spacecraft

noun

space·​craft ˈspās-ˌkraft How to pronounce spacecraft (audio)
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Another way to handle the problem is to install protective armor on spacecraft. David Szondy october 26, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025 To prepare for the inevitable, ESA is expanding its monitoring network and preparing for the 2031 Vigil mission — a new spacecraft that will sit at the sun-Earth L5 point to give earlier warnings of incoming solar eruptions. Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 26 Oct. 2025 The spacecraft runs on supercold liquid methane and liquid oxygen—a lot of liquid oxygen and liquid methane, too much for the first stage of the rocket to muscle off the ground. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 24 Oct. 2025 Optimizing Orion Launching atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, NASA’s Orion spacecraft quite literally is the foundation on which the Artemis II mission rests. Matt Alderton, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for spacecraft

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spacecraft was in 1929

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spacecraft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spacecraft. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

spacecraft

noun
space·​craft ˈspā-ˌskraft How to pronounce spacecraft (audio)
plural spacecraft
: a vehicle for travel beyond the earth's atmosphere

More from Merriam-Webster on spacecraft

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