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 
Word Icons
Examples of astronaut in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And with those words from Mission Control on April 2, the Artemis II astronauts were given the green light to fire up their engine, leave Earth orbit and head for their historic rendezvous with the moon.
—Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
The four astronauts aboard will do a fly-around of the moon before returning to Earth.
—ABC News, 4 Apr. 2026
Decades of toilet development informed the system aboard Orion that the Artemis II astronauts are using.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026
Toilet troubles aside, in an interview with CBS on Saturday, the astronauts spoke about the mission’s symbolic importance for all those watching from Earth.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for astronaut
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.
Robert Abitbol, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
The four astronauts aboard will do a fly-around of the moon before returning to Earth.
—ABC News, 4 Apr. 2026
Decades of toilet development informed the system aboard Orion that the Artemis II astronauts are using.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026
Toilet troubles aside, in an interview with CBS on Saturday, the astronauts spoke about the mission’s symbolic importance for all those watching from Earth.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for astronaut
Cite this Entry
“Astronaut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astronaut. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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-
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
