celestial body

noun

variants or less commonly celestial object

plural celestial bodies also celestial objects

: an aggregation of matter in the universe (such as a planet, star, or nebula) that can be considered as a single unit (as for astronomical study)

But many scientists began seriously rethinking their notions of the solar system in 1992, when we identified a small celestial body—just a few hundred kilometers across—sited farther from the sun than any of the known planets.

—Jane X. Luu et al.

As the observer looks at a star or other celestial body its light rays pass through a single point on the earth's surface.

—Dutton's Navigation and Piloting, 14th edition

A black hole forms when a star or other celestial object collapses under the pull of its own gravity.

—Mary Durack Miller

called also heavenly body

Examples of celestial body in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The cosmic rendezvous presents spectators with a rare opportunity to see a phenomenon in which at least two celestial bodies appear to us to be near one another. —Jordan Green, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 6 Mar. 2026

Her celestial bodies don’t inhabit the night sky, but rather the silver screen—and yet, reading them has become as necessary in 2026 as observing the Milky Way was to Galileo in the 1600s. —Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026

Solar and lunar eclipses tend to follow each other, taking advantage of the sweet spot in the celestial bodies' orbits. —Dan Raby, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026

While some astrology enthusiasts emblazon their sun signs on Instagram bios, others go the permanent route, tattooing eternal odes to the celestial bodies on their actual bodies. —Micaela English, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for celestial body

• passamaquoddy
• afterbody
• antibody
• busybody
• everybody
• autoantibody
• bawdy
• gaudy
• khadi
• mahdi
• noddy
• oddi