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

Filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s meteoric rise looks to continue with space epic Hail Project Mary, starring Ryan Gosling. —Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 20 Mar. 2026

Gold’s meteoric rise in recent months had in part been boosted by retail investors chasing the rally. —John Towfighi, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026

Ras Laffan is quite simply the engine that has powered Qatar’s meteoric growth and rise as a global power broker. —Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026

But Hollywood has a short memory and most of the people who benefited from Devlin’s meteoric rise and the kidnapping can’t be bothered to help her now. —Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026

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