Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

astronomer

/əˈstɹɑ.nə.mɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.16 in modern English

Syllables: as-tronomer
IPA: /əˈstɹɑ.nə.mɚ/

12

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who studies astronomy, the stars or the physical universe; a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics.

Example Sentences

"At the observatory on Mauna Kea on Hawaii, a young astronomer, Heidi Hammel, focuses a huge telescope on the remote planet."
"Pioneering American astronomer Vera Rubin once mentored fellow aspiring female astronomers and advocated for women in science. It’s fitting that the first national US observatory named for a female astronomer is in her honor."
"But none of those brown dwarfs were speeding along on a trajectory that would carry them out of the galaxy like “runaway” hypervelocity stars observed by astronomers in the last two decades."

Etymology

From Middle English astronomer, equivalent to astronomy + -er. Displaced native Old English tungolcræftiga.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: astronomer

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /əˈstɹɑ.nə.mɚ/
British English: /əˈstɹɒn.ə.mə/

Inflected Forms

astronomers (plural)

Derived Forms

archaeoastronomer astronomeress bioastronomer ethnoastronomer nonastronomer radioastronomer

Phrases

astronomer-priest radio astronomer Astronomer Royal

Frequently Paired Words

Astronomer Royal cosmologist

Synonyms

astro-boffin astronomist uranologist stargazer

Rhymes With

monomer

Questions

How do you pronounce astronomer?: The recorded pronunciation is /əˈstɹɑ.nə.mɚ/.
What does astronomer mean?: One who studies astronomy, the stars or the physical universe; a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics.
Where does astronomer come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce astronomer

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “astronomer”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əˈstɹɑ.nə.mɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “astronomer”.
Repeat and practice — Say “astronomer” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.