astronaut

/ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/

//ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"astronaut" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“astronaut” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,907. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,907
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft that travels beyond Earth's atmosphere, or someone trained to serve that purpose.

Corpus desk

Index EN-astronaut · astronaut · English

astronaut · rank #12,907 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,907
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Armenian

Nearest frequency peer: Armenian (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “astronaut”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “astronaut” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for astronaut
PropertyValue
Headwordastronaut
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#12,907
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “astronaut”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).astronautlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Armenian” (#12,906), “attain” (#12,908), “allergy” (#12,905). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “astronaut” is #12,907. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around astronaut (IPA /ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,907 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for astronaut, with forms such as "asrtonaut", "asstronaut", and "astornaut". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From astro- + -naut. Coined from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”). The correct English form is astronaut, spelled A-S-T-R-O-N-A-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft that travels beyond Earth's atmosphere, or someone trained to serve that purpose.
  2. 2
    A member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft that travels beyond Earth's atmosphere, or someone trained to serve that purpose.
  3. 3
    A person (typically man) working abroad away from their family.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how astronaut appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Though from different social, economic, and political worlds, the astronauts and cosmonauts had much in common, both as professionals and human beings.
  2. The American astronauts in the competing Mercury program may have joked about being “Spam in a can,” but it seems clear that Korolev wanted to have plenty of cosmonauts on hand in case another rocket blew up.

Etymology

From astro- + -naut. Coined from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”).

Synonyms

cosmonaut

This word in other languages

astronauta(Español)astronaute(Français)Astronaut(Deutsch)astronauta(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asrtonaut
  • asstronaut
  • astornaut
  • astrnoaut
  • astroanut
  • astronatu
  • astronautt
  • astronnaut
  • astronuat
  • astrronaut
  • asttronaut
  • atsronaut
  • satronaut

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of astronaut - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

asrtonaut2asstronaut1astornaut2astrnoaut2astroanut2astronatu2astronautt1astronnaut1
Edit distance from "astronaut"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "astronaut"?
"astronaut" is spelled A-S-T-R-O-N-A-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/.
What does "astronaut" mean?
As a noun, "astronaut" means: A member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft that travels beyond Earth's atmosphere, or someone trained to serve that purpose.
What are common misspellings of "astronaut"?
Common misspellings include "asrtonaut", "asstronaut", "astornaut", "astrnoaut", "astroanut". The correct spelling is "astronaut".
How do you pronounce "astronaut"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "astronaut" is /ˈæstɹəˌnɔːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "astronaut"?
From astro- + -naut. Coined from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "astronaut", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

attendant#12,909backstage#12,912adulthood#12,900benchmark#12,915

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

accusation13 variantsbrowsing13 variantsunderrated13 variantsthrilling13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list