astronaut
noun
as·tro·naut
ˈa-strə-ˌnȯt 
-ˌnät
plural astronauts
: a person whose profession is to travel beyond the earth's atmosphere
NASA on Wednesday introduced the group of astronauts it has chosen for upcoming missions to the moon. The program, called Artemis, aims to send people back to the moon for the first time since the end of NASA's Apollo program in 1972.—
Kenneth Chang
Kenneth Chang
broadly
: any person who travels beyond the earth's atmosphere
William Shatner, the 90-year-old actor of "Star Trek" fame, endured a 10-minute, rocket-powered ride to the edge of space … . In that moment, at least one thing became certain: Yes, a nonagenarian can be an astronaut. —Jackie Wattles
Jackie Wattles 
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There are lingering memories of past layoffs: more than 1,000 jobs in Huntsville were lost when Constellation, a program to return astronauts to the moon, was shut down in 2010.
—Eduardo Medina, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Starship is intended to transport astronauts to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
China is targeting landing a pair of astronauts on the moon before 2030 and is already making progress on the various pieces of hardware needed to emulate a feat so far only achieved by the United States, such as the crew spacecraft, lander and a new launch vehicle.
—Andrew Jones, Space.com, 14 Feb. 2025
Future studies will also work to understand whether the exercise could recover cartilage damage in astronauts who have returned from a space mission.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
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Eduardo Medina, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Starship is intended to transport astronauts to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
China is targeting landing a pair of astronauts on the moon before 2030 and is already making progress on the various pieces of hardware needed to emulate a feat so far only achieved by the United States, such as the crew spacecraft, lander and a new launch vehicle.
—Andrew Jones, Space.com, 14 Feb. 2025
Future studies will also work to understand whether the exercise could recover cartilage damage in astronauts who have returned from a space mission.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for astronaut
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Cite this Entry
“Astronaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astronaut. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
astronaut
noun
as·tro·naut
ˈas-trə-ˌnȯt
-nät
: a traveler in a spacecraft
astronautic
adjective
ˌas-trə-ˈnȯt-ik
or astronautical
-i-kəl,
-nät-
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