splashdown

noun

splash·​down ˈsplash-ˌdau̇n 

plural splashdowns

: the landing of a crewed spacecraft in the ocean

splash down intransitive verb

Examples of splashdown in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Within two hours of the astronauts’ splashdown, divers will help extract them from the capsule and get them into helicopters that will carry them to the ship. —Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026

The quartet will arrive here Friday evening (April 10), with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 9 Apr. 2026

The final deployment of three main parachutes will come at about 6,000 feet and bring Orion down at around 20 mph for splashdown. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2026

After splashdown, a separate Armstrong Flight Research Center team will collect a fortified sensor affixed to the exterior of the capsule that is designed to study the heat shield up close. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for splashdown

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

splashdown

noun

splash·​down ˈsplash-ˌdau̇n 

: the landing of a spacecraft in the ocean