Illustration of orrery
plural orreries
: an apparatus showing the relative positions and motions of bodies in the solar system by balls moved by a clockwork
Examples of orrery in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the 1700s, the orrery, a clockwork model of the Solar System, was developed.
—
Martin Bush, Space.com, 5 July 2025
The discovery underscored how Earth was not the center of the universe, but a small player in an orrery of smaller orbs spinning around greater ones.
—science.org, 19 Sep. 2024
The most striking addition to their dark jumble shop are several balls, such as a soccer ball and the bright red sphere of a punching bag, on stands, which turns the whole room into a janky orrery—a model of a planetary system—with a Spalding basketball playing the Earth.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
By the 1950s, the traditional Copernican orrery was in need of an electronic upgrade.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 Oct. 2023
Few things are as captivating as an orrery.
—Jay Bennett and Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2021
And like a globe, an orrery also serves a practical function.
—Jay Bennett and Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2021
Christina suggests Hiram’s hidden pages are connected to his orrery — or solar system model — which was secreted away in his home.
—Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 8 Sep. 2020
Hippolyta finds in the orrery, which send her to the observatory (the numbers are 39.805499 and -95.159492).
—Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 28 Sep. 2020
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Martin Bush, Space.com, 5 July 2025
The discovery underscored how Earth was not the center of the universe, but a small player in an orrery of smaller orbs spinning around greater ones.
—science.org, 19 Sep. 2024
The most striking addition to their dark jumble shop are several balls, such as a soccer ball and the bright red sphere of a punching bag, on stands, which turns the whole room into a janky orrery—a model of a planetary system—with a Spalding basketball playing the Earth.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
By the 1950s, the traditional Copernican orrery was in need of an electronic upgrade.
—IEEE Spectrum, 1 Oct. 2023
Few things are as captivating as an orrery.
—Jay Bennett and Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2021
And like a globe, an orrery also serves a practical function.
—Jay Bennett and Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 19 Jan. 2021
Christina suggests Hiram’s hidden pages are connected to his orrery — or solar system model — which was secreted away in his home.
—Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 8 Sep. 2020
Hippolyta finds in the orrery, which send her to the observatory (the numbers are 39.805499 and -95.159492).
—Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 28 Sep. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Orrery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orrery. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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