Kuiper Belt

noun

Kui·​per Belt ˈkī-pər- 

variants or less commonly Kuiper belt

: a band of small celestial bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune from which many short-period comets are believed to originate

A team of astronomers … has likely discovered a rare three-body system in the Kuiper Belt. If confirmed, this would mark only the second such system found in the distant region of icy bodies beyond Neptune …

—Clarence Oxford

compare oort cloud

Examples of Kuiper Belt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Decades beyond its original mission, Voyager 2 has begun studying the Kuiper Belt environment beyond the Sun’s protective heliosphere, giving scientists measurements from a region no spacecraft had been designed to reach. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Launched in January 2006, New Horizons became the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto in 2015 before continuing deeper into the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune filled with icy objects. — Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, expected to launch at the end of August, can use its powerful observational tools to see what exists beyond the Kuiper Belt, Brandt added. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 July 2026

The technology could also support missions to Neptune and Triton, long-duration probes studying outer planet moons, and future Kuiper Belt explorers traveling farther than New Horizons. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Gerard P. Kuiper †1973 U.S. (Dutch-born) astronomer

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Kuiper Belt

• celt
• dealt
• dwelt
• felt
• knelt
• melt
• pelt
• smelt
• spelt
• veldt
• welt
• heartfelt