spaceman

/ˈspeɪsˌmæn/

//ˈspeɪsˌmæn// noun

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

"spaceman" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spaceman” is uncommon English (frequency #55,755 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,755
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An astronaut, often a male astronaut.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spaceman · spaceman · English

spaceman · rank #55,755 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,755
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sounder

Nearest frequency peer: sounder (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “spaceman”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “spaceman” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for spaceman
PropertyValue
Headwordspaceman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspeɪsˌmæn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#55,755
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “spaceman” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).spacemanfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “sounder” (#55,754), “soph” (#55,753), “spearman” (#55,757). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spaceman” is #55,755. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

spaceman is uncommon English at frequency #55,755 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈspeɪsˌmæn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for spaceman in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From space + -man. The correct English form is spaceman, spelled S-P-A-C-E-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An astronaut, often a male astronaut.
  2. 2
    A humanoid extraterrestrial.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I want to be a spaceman when I grow up.
  2. A spaceman from Mars could easily pick out the most civilized nations here. They are the only ones who know how to make atom bombs.

Etymology

From space + -man.

Synonyms

astronautrocketman

This word in other languages

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

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 "spaceman"?
"spaceman" is spelled S-P-A-C-E-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspeɪsˌmæn/.
What does "spaceman" mean?
As a noun, "spaceman" means: An astronaut, often a male astronaut.
How do you pronounce "spaceman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spaceman" is /ˈspeɪsˌmæn/. 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 "spaceman"?
From space + -man. 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 "spaceman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

spearman#55,757softcore#55,749snagging#55,746slurping#55,743

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list