Word.ws English Dictionary

argonaut

UK/ˈɑː(ɹ).ɡəˌnɔːt//ˈɑɹ.ɡəˌnɔt/

argonaut noun: any of several species of shelled octopods of the family Argonautidae (of which only the genus Argonauta is not extinct).

argonaut: any of several species of shelled octopods of the family Argonautidae (of which only the genus...
Image: Comingio Merculiano (1845–1915) in Jatta Giuseppe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

argonaut (plural argonauts)

  1. Any of several species of shelled octopods of the family Argonautidae (of which only the genus Argonauta is not extinct).
    • Amazingly, it wasn’t until 2010 that scientists experimentally understood how argonauts use their shell constructions to float in the water column and control buoyancy.2018 March 27, Mark Carnall, The Guardian
  2. An adventurer on a dangerous but rewarding quest.
  3. (historical, specifically) A 49er, a person who took part in the California Gold Rush of 1849.

Proper noun capitalized: Argonaut

Argonaut

  1. (Greek) One of the members of the Argo who sailed with Jason in search of the Golden Fleece.
  2. Any of several ships and submarines of the British and US navies.
  3. (Canadian) A team member for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
  4. (obsolete) Synonym of Ulleungdo.
    • The Olivutsa’s surveys led to the conclusion that Argonaut Island must be Ulleungdo and that the incorrect position of Argonaut Island should be discarded, thereby putting an end to the confusion that had lasted for years.2016, Choi Seo-myeon, “Dokdo as Illustrated on Maps”, in Historical, Geographical and Legal Analyses on Dokdo, Northeast Asian History Foundation, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 58
    Synonyms:
    Ulleungdo

Noun (2) capitalized: Argonaut

Argonaut (plural Argonauts)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of argonaut.

Synonyms of argonaut

Forms of argonaut

pluralargonauts
pluralArgonauts

Origin of argonaut

Generalised use of Argonaut.

Borrowed from Latin Argonauta, from Ancient Greek Ἀργοναύτης (Argonaútēs). By surface analysis, Argo + -naut.

Words formed from argonaut

Questions about argonaut

What does argonaut mean?
Argonaut means any of several species of shelled octopods of the family Argonautidae (of which only the genus Argonauta is not extinct).
What part of speech is argonaut?
Argonaut can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce argonaut?
Argonaut is pronounced /ˈɑː(ɹ).ɡəˌnɔːt/ (UK).
What is the plural of argonaut?
The plural of argonaut is argonauts.

Words near argonaut in the dictionary

  1. argon fluorohydride
  2. argon-36
  3. argon-38
  4. argon-40
  5. argonated
  6. argonaut
  7. argonaute
  8. argonautes
  9. argonautic
  10. Argonautical
  11. argonautid

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: argonaut (page history and authors); Argonaut (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Argonaut.wav.

Cite this entry: “argonaut.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/argonaut. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.