geostationary

adjective

geo·​sta·​tion·​ary ˌjē-ō-ˈstā-shə-ˌner-ē 

: being or having an equatorial orbit at an altitude of about 22,300 miles (35,900 kilometers) requiring an angular velocity the same as that of the earth so that the position of a satellite in such an orbit is fixed with respect to the earth

Examples of geostationary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Operating in low Earth orbit, typically below 1,250 miles, modern satellite constellations rely on hundreds or even thousands of interconnected satellites to deliver high-speed connectivity with significantly lower latency than traditional geostationary systems positioned much farther from Earth. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 26 Apr. 2026

Traditional geostationary satellites orbit 20,000 miles up. —Ben Tarnoff, Big Think, 23 Apr. 2026

Also flying were payloads for Astranis Space Technologies and Gravity Space headed for geostationary orbits. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026

The carrier has since been swapping out its old hardware, based on satellites in distant geostationary orbit, for Starlink gear that connects to that low-Earth-orbit constellation, on more narrowbody jets. —Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 15 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for geostationary

• accretionary
• apothecary
• bicentenary
• certiorari
• concessionary
• concretionary
• confectionary
• confectionery
• constabulary
• contemporary
• deflationary
• depositary