Meaning & use

cosmonaut

noun·Advanced

An astronaut trained by the Russian or former Soviet space program.

See it in a sentence

The cosmonaut spent six months aboard the space station conducting experiments.

Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut to orbit the Earth in 1961.

A note on using this word

Cosmonaut is specifically used for Russian and Soviet space travelers, while astronaut is the general term used elsewhere, including the United States.

Words with a similar meaning

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