spacecraft

noun

space·​craft ˈspās-ˌkraft 

: a vehicle or device designed for travel or operation outside the earth's atmosphere

Examples of spacecraft in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The spacecraft is designed to survive temperatures approaching -290°F (-179°C), methane rainfall and swirling hydrocarbon dust. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

This coronagraph blocks the sun's disk for the more distant member in the Proba-3 formation, allowing that spacecraft to image our star's atmosphere in incredible detail. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Since the dawn of the space age, spacecraft have been treated as disposable because salvaging them was too expensive—or too technically challenging—compared with the easier, cheaper task of launching fresh replacements. — Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026

But in all that time, across more than 100 successes and failures, no spacecraft has ever landed at the South Pole of the Moon. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for spacecraft

• allograft
• autograft
• autographed
• countershaft
• handicraft
• homograft
• hovercraft
• lithographed
• overdraft
• photographed
• rotorcraft
• telegraphed

Kids Definition

spacecraft

noun

space·​craft ˈspā-ˌskraft 

plural spacecraft

: a vehicle for travel beyond the earth's atmosphere