satellite
noun
Simple meaning
A man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body, generally to relay information, data etc.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
satuhlytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsætəlaɪt
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
A man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body, generally to relay information, data etc. to Earth.
“Many telecommunication satellites orbit at 36000km above the equator.”
A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one.
“A spent upper stage is a derelict satellite.”
colloquialuncountable
Satellite TV; reception of television broadcasts via services that utilize man-made satellite technology.
“Do you have satellite at your house?”
A country, state, office, building etc. which is under the jurisdiction, influence, or domination of another body.
An attendant on an important person; a member of someone's retinue, often in a somewhat derogatory sense; a henchman.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body, generally to relay information, data etc. to Earth.
Used this way, satellite is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Many telecommunication satellites orbit at 36000km above the equator.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
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.
Man / moonnoun
“Many telecommunication satellites orbit at 36000km above the equator.”
Satellitenoun
“Do you have satellite at your house?”
More ways to use satellite
- “A weather satellite orbits Earth, sending back images and data.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A receiver on a communications satellite.
A television system in which the signal is transmitted to an orbiting satellite that receives the signal and amplifies it and transmits it back to earth.
A transmitter on a communications satellite.
A television system in which the signal is transmitted to an orbiting satellite that receives the signal and amplifies it and transmits it back to earth.
Man-made equipment that orbits around the earth or the moon.
A satellite equipped with a telescope to observe infrared radiation.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- orbitaladjective
- uplinknoun
- orbitnoun
- spacecraftnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.