orbit

1 of 3

noun (1)

or·​bit ˈȯr-bət 

: the bony socket of the eye

The orbit encloses and protects the eye and its appendages.

orbit

2 of 3

noun (2)

1

a

: a path described by one body in its revolution about another (as by the earth about the sun or by an electron about an atomic nucleus)

also : one complete revolution of a body describing such a path

b

: a circular path

2

: a range or sphere of activity or influence

within the president's orbit

orbit

3 of 3

verb

orbited; orbiting; orbits

transitive verb

1

: to revolve in an orbit around : circle

2

: to send up and make revolve in an orbit

orbit a satellite

intransitive verb

: to travel in circles

Synonyms

Verb

• circle
• circuit
• circumnavigate
• circumvent
• compass
• encircle
• girdle
• ring
• round

Choose the Right Synonym for orbit

range, gamut, compass, sweep, scope, orbit mean the extent that lies within the powers of something (as to cover or control).

range is a general term indicating the extent of one's perception or the extent of powers, capacities, or possibilities.

the entire range of human experience

gamut suggests a graduated series running from one possible extreme to another.

a performance that ran the gamut of emotions

compass implies a sometimes limited extent of perception, knowledge, or activity.

your concerns lie beyond the narrow compass of this study

sweep suggests extent, often circular or arc-shaped, of motion or activity.

the book covers the entire sweep of criminal activity

scope is applicable to an area of activity, predetermined and limited, but somewhat flexible.

as time went on, the scope of the investigation widened

orbit suggests an often circumscribed range of activity or influence within which forces work toward accommodation.

within that restricted orbit they tried to effect social change

Examples of orbit in a Sentence

Verb

The Moon orbits the Earth.

The satellites orbit at different heights.

The Moon orbits around the Earth.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The second stage, which is not reusable, delivers the payload into orbit and then eventually falls back to earth and burns up in the atmosphere. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2024

The six satellites are slated to fly into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket, which will also carry 15 other Starlink satellites. —Michael Kan, PCMAG, 5 Apr. 2024

Read more The claim: Celestial navigation would be impossible if Earth is globe-shaped and orbits the sun Our rating: False Celestial navigation is a technique still used to determine location based on the positions of celestial objects. —Kim Breen, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024

When those three or more bodies all exert force onto one another, their orbit becomes chaotic and hard to predict. —Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024

Read More: How Animals and Nature React to an Eclipse Earth’s orbit around the sun is elliptical too, with a maximum distance, or aphelion, of about 152.1 million km (94.5 million mi.), and a minimum distance, or perihelion, of 147.1 million km (91.4 million mi.). —TIME, 28 Mar. 2024

The frequency of solar eclipses can vary from year to year due to factors such as the tilt of the moon's orbit relative to the Earth's orbit around the sun and the elliptical shape of the moon's orbit. —The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024

In their search for the missing young woman, they're pulled into the orbit of a professor obsessed with tracing threads of the Kingman through history. —Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2024

Some four billion years ago, movements of the giant planets may have destabilized the Kuiper belt—a ring of icy space objects beyond the current orbit of Neptune—leading to an era of frequent collisions. —Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Verb

Discrepancies in time also could lead to errors in mapping and locating positions on or orbiting the moon, the official said. —Reuters, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024

That pallet was expected to orbit Earth harmlessly for several years before burning up in the atmosphere, according to a NASA news release from 2021. —Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024

Astronauts only used the lunar module for transport between the moon and the orbiting command module. —Kim Breen, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024

The scientists determined this thanks to a quirk of neutron star binaries, which are systems where neutron stars and companion stars orbit each other. —Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024

Through a constellation of characters that orbit the titular store, Hwang explores how a person might choose to counter workism without rejecting work entirely, and how a meaningful life might be built by applying oneself to even the most pleasurable pastimes. —Apoorva Tadepalli, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024

The sensors now orbiting in space will then send data back to Earth in the coming months. —Julia Simon, NPR, 5 Mar. 2024

Phobos is practically snuggled up against Mars, orbiting at around 3,700 miles above the red planet’s surface. —Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

General Stafford flew four times in space and orbited within nine miles of the moon’s surface on the mission that preceded the moon walks of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969, fulfilling President John F. Kennedy’s quest to best the Soviet Union in the space race. —Richard Goldstein, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English orbite, orbita, borrowed from Medieval Latin orbita (probably as translation of Greek trochiá), going back to Latin, "track, rut, path of a heavenly body" — more at orbit entry 2

Noun (2)

borrowed from Latin orbita "track, rut, path of a heavenly body," probably derivative of an adjective stem *orbi-t- "wheel-like," derivative of orbis "disk, circle, wheel" — more at orb entry 1

Verb

derivative of orbit entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1696, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1943, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing orbit

• low earth orbit

Kids Definition

orbit

1 of 3 noun

or·​bit ˈȯr-bət 

: one of the bone-lined cavities for the eyes in the vertebrate skull

called also eye socket

orbit

2 of 3 noun

: the path taken by one body circling around another body

the orbit of the earth around the sun

also : one complete circle that makes up such a path

orbital

-ᵊl

adjective

orbit

3 of 3 verb

1

: to move in an orbit around : circle

the moon orbits the earth

2

: to send up so as to move in an orbit

orbit a satellite

Etymology

Noun

Middle English orbit "eye socket," from Latin orbita (same meaning), from earlier orbita "path, rut, track"

Noun

from Latin orbita "path, rut, track"

Medical Definition

orbit

noun

or·​bit ˈȯr-bət 

: the bony cavity perforated for the passage of nerves and blood vessels that occupies the lateral front of the skull immediately beneath the frontal bone on each side and encloses and protects the eye and its appendages

called also eye socket, orbital cavity

orbital

-ᵊl 

adjective