cosmos

noun cos·mos \ ˈkäz-məs , senses 1 & 2 also -ˌmōs , -ˌmäs \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Examples: cosmos in a Sentence

Editor's Note: cosmos and the Universe

Definition of cosmos

1 a : universe 1

b (1) : an orderly harmonious systematic universe — compare chaos

(2) : order, harmony

2 : a complex orderly self-inclusive system

3 plural cosmos play \ˈkäz-məs, -məz\ also cosmoses play \ˈkäz-mə-səz\

[New Latin, genus name, from Greek kosmos]

: any of a genus (Cosmos) of tropical American composite herbs; especially : a widely cultivated tall annual (C. bipinnatus) with yellow or red disks and showy ray flowers

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Examples of cosmos in a Sentence

the origins of the cosmos
an essay that ponders the place of humankind in the vast cosmos

Recent Examples of cosmos from the Web

But recently, the scientists seem to have begun to master the science and art of cosmos creation.

— natalie wolchover, WIRED, "The Universe Is Not a Simulation, but We Can Now Simulate It," 16 June 2018
In addition to offering shows in the Explorers' Dome, Orion will sail with a Viking Resident Astronomer who will lecture on the mysteries of the cosmos and how humans have explored it.

— gene sloan, USA TODAY, "New Viking Cruises ship boasts high-tech planetarium," 14 June 2018
As Kurlansky points out, Milk is even written into the story of our cosmos–our galaxy, after all, is called the Milky Way.

— daniel fernandez, Smithsonian, "The Surprisingly Intolerant History of Milk," 11 May 2018
For May through July have zinnias, mistflower, milkweed, pentas, pavonia, cosmos and plumbago growing in your yard.

— calvin finch, San Antonio Express-News, "Attracting and producing butterflies in your landscape," 6 Apr. 2018
On the flower side of things, nothing is easier than cosmos.

— jeff lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, "Alaska gardeners, it’s time to germinate something," 29 Mar. 2018
Swirling gold spirals, faces morphing into garlands, bodies morphing into trees, the cosmos, Greek mythology, Munch, castles in the air . .

— eve macsweeney, Vogue, "This Cult Danish Jeweler’s Work Will Be Reissued at Dover Street Market," 1 June 2018
In 2017, the helmer released the divisive environmental allegory mother! and enlisted Patti Smith and Jessica Chastain to narrate a VR experience about the cosmos, Spheres.

— katie kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, "How Darren Aronofsky Recruited Astronauts for Environmental Doc Series 'One Strange Rock'," 31 May 2018
From various measurements, cosmologists have deduced that just 5% of the mass and energy of the cosmos is ordinary matter like that in stars and planets.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Galaxy simulations are at last matching reality—and producing surprising insights into cosmic evolution," 30 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cosmos.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

cosmos and the Universe

Cosmos often simply means "universe". But the word is generally used to suggest an orderly or harmonious universe, as it was originally used by Pythagoras in the 6th century B.C. Thus, a religious mystic may help put us in touch with the cosmos, and so may a physicist. The same is often true of the adjective cosmic: Cosmic rays (really particles rather than rays) bombard us from outer space, but cosmic questions come from human attempts to find order in the universe.