From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcosmonautcos‧mo‧naut /ˈkɒzmənɔːt $ ˈkɑːzmənɒːt/ noun [countable] TTSan astronaut from the former Soviet Union
Examples from the Corpus
cosmonaut• Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man to orbit the Earth.• Wichman also prepared a training manual for prospective passengers by interviewing astronauts and cosmonauts about the things that bugged them.• Athletes, including Sebastian Coe, and cosmonauts are among well-known users of ginseng today.• Packed three or four to a closet-sized room, students can come to envy the elbow room afforded sardines and cosmonauts.• A letter signed by former cosmonauts and rocket scientists and 16,000 Muscovites has been handed to Putin.• On other flights, Soviet cosmonauts could work only about four hours a day.Origin cosmonaut (1900-2000) Russian kosmonavt, from Greek kosmos ( → COSMOS) + Russian -navt (as in aeronavt “flyer”; → AERONAUTICS) 