orbit
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awrbuhtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɔɹbət
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another
“He plotted the orbit of the moon.”
The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
astronomy
An elliptical movement of an object about a celestial object or Lagrange point, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.
anatomy
The bony cavity in the skull of a vertebrate containing the eyeball.
zoology
The area around the eye of a bird or other animal.
figurative
A sphere of influence; an area or extent of activity, interest, or control.
verb
transitive
To place an object (e.g. a satellite) into an orbit around a planet.
transitive
To move around the general vicinity of something.
transitive
To move in a circle.
transitive
To center (around).
Move in an orbit
“The moon orbits around the Earth.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another
Used this way, orbit is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He plotted the orbit of the moon.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “orbit of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- eye socket , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Natural pattern: orbit of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Elliptical / curvednoun
“He plotted the orbit of the moon.”
Moveverb
“The moon orbits around the Earth.”
More ways to use orbit
- “He plotted the orbit of the moon.”noun
- “The moon orbits around the Earth.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Man-made equipment that orbits around the earth or the moon.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The time it takes to complete one full orbit around a celestial body.
A circular orbit around the Earth having a period of 24 hours.
The angle between the plane of the orbit and the plane of the ecliptic stated in degrees.
The (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial body in its revolution about another.
The bony cavity in the skull containing the eyeball.
The path of an electron around the nucleus of an atom.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Motion of an object in an orbit around a fixed point.
The plane on which a body is orbiting.
The craniometric point at the lowest point on the lower edge of the orbit.
Motion of an object in an orbit around a fixed point.
An artery that originates from the maxillary artery and supplies structures below the orbit (from lower eyelid to upper lip).
An artery that originates from the maxillary artery and supplies structures below the orbit (from lower eyelid to upper lip).
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- asteroidnoun
- trajectorynoun
- cometnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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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.