meteoric

adjective

me·​te·​or·​ic ˌmē-tē-ˈȯr-ik 

-ˈär-

1

a

: of or relating to a meteor

b

: resembling a meteor in speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance

a meteoric rise to fame

2

: of, relating to, or derived from the earth's atmosphere

meteoric water

meteorically

ˌmē-tē-ˈȯr-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈär-

adverb

Examples of meteoric in a Sentence

a meteoric rise to fame

Recent Examples on the Web

Gaviota’s meteoric rise, from a modest firm managing 164 rooms when it was founded in 1988 to becoming Cuba’s largest tourism company, with 44,049 hotel rooms, is tied to GAESA’s dramatic expansion in recent years. —Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 23 Dec. 2025

Driving the problem is a meteoric rise in the share of patients with criminal cases who stay significantly longer, generally by court order. —Sarah Jane Tribble, NPR, 22 Dec. 2025

Storylines to watch Texas A&M Aggies The Aggies have seen a meteoric rise in their program since Morrison took over. —Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 20 Dec. 2025

Europe’s defense sector has seen a meteoric rise this year, amid the Ukraine war and commitments from regional governments and the NATO military alliance to ramp up defense spending. —Chloe Taylor,greg Kennedy, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for meteoric

• anaphoric
• metaphoric
• paregoric
• prehistoric
• pyrophoric
• boric
• chloric
• doric
• toric
• caloric
• dysphoric
• euphoric

Kids Definition

meteoric

adjective

me·​te·​or·​ic ˌmēt-ē-ˈȯr-ik 

-ˈär-

1

: of or relating to a meteor

a meteoric shower

2

: resembling a meteor in speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance

a meteoric rise to fame

meteorically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb