cosmonaut

IPA/ˈkɒzmənɔːt/
KK[kˈɔzmənˌɔt]IPA/ˈkɑːzmənɔːt/

cosmonaut — noun

  • cosmonautsingular
  • cosmonautsplural

1. someone accepted onto a Russian-built spacecraft as a trained crew member, inclu

1.nounB2
Definition

someone accepted onto a Russian-built spacecraft as a trained crew member, including those who flew for the Soviet programme before it ended

Example

Cosmonaut Yelena guided the spacecraft as it docked with the space station.

title format: Cosmonaut + first name

The cosmonaut was chosen for the mission after two years of intense training.

passive: was chosen for [mission]

Common collocations
  • trained cosmonaut
  • Russian cosmonaut
  • Soviet cosmonaut
  • cosmonaut training programme
  • cosmonaut crew member
Synonyms
  • astronaut

    general US/NASA-trained space traveller; cosmonaut is the Russian equivalent

  • taikonaut

    Chinese space traveller; even more culturally specific than cosmonaut

  • space traveller

    broader, non-national term that includes all crew regardless of programme

Usage Note

Only used for space travellers from Russia or the former Soviet Union. Compare with astronaut (American programme) and taikonaut (Chinese programme).

Common Mistakes

The American cosmonaut landed on the moon.
The American astronaut landed on the moon.
cosmonaut only refers to Russian or Soviet space crew members.

Word family

  • cosmonautics
    nounC1
  • cosmonautic
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Cosmonaut, astronaut, and taikonaut all refer to people trained for space travel, but each term ties to a particular national space programme. Cosmonaut is used exclusively for Russian (or former Soviet) crew members — the word comes from the Russian kosmonavt, and the role is associated with the Roscosmos agency. Astronaut is the broader international term but specifically refers to NASA, ESA, or other non-Russian, non-Chinese programmes. Taikonaut, a much newer word formed from the Chinese taikong (space), applies to crew members of the China National Space Administration. Space traveller and spaceman are more informal, non-national alternatives that work for any programme. In everyday use, many English speakers default to astronaut regardless of nationality, but precise usage respects these distinctions. For example, a news report would say 'Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts worked together on the ISS,' not 'Russian astronauts.'

astronaut ↗taikonautspace travellerspaceman ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekRussianEnglish

Cosmonaut entered English in the late 1950s, borrowed from Russian kosmonavt (космонавт). The Russian word was coined from Greek kosmos 'universe, order' and nautes 'sailor' — literally 'universe sailor' — modelled on the earlier English word astronaut. The Soviet Union began using kosmonavt officially in 1960 to distinguish its space travellers from the American astronauts of NASA.