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asteroid

noun

Simple meaning

A naturally occurring solid object, which is smaller than a planet and a dwarf planet, larger than a meteoroid and not a comet.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

asteroyd

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈæstɚɔɪd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. astronomy

    A naturally occurring solid object, which is smaller than a planet and a dwarf planet, larger than a meteoroid and not a comet, that orbits a star and often has an irregular shape.

  2. astronomy

    In the Solar system, such a body that orbits within the orbit of Jupiter

  3. zoology

    Any member of the taxonomic class Asteroidea; a starfish.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: In the Solar system, such a body that orbits within the orbit of Jupiter

Used this way, asteroid is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Science
  • Academic writing
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Nearby words

  • minor planet , rarer, so it draws attention
  • planetoid , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Solar / numerous

asteroid beltasteroid impactsmall asteroidmain asteroid

Naturally

earth asteroid

Other combinations

large asteroidasteroid fieldfirst asteroid

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • asteroid beltnounCompound term

    The region of interplanetary space between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are found.

  • apollo asteroidnounCompound term

    An asteroid whose orbit crosses the Earth's orbit.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: naturally occurring solid object

minor planetRareplanetoidRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.