suborbital

adjective

sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bə-tᵊl 

1

: situated beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye

2

: being or involving less than one orbit (as of the earth or moon)

also : intended for suborbital flight

Examples of suborbital in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The New Shepard mission itself lasted roughly 10 minutes – during the flight, the rocket accelerated Benthaus and her five crewmates to more than three times the speed of sound, carrying the capsule beyond the Kármán Line on a brief suborbital trajectory. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 21 Dec. 2025

Elon Musk's company has launched 170 times so far this year — 165 flights of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket and five suborbital test missions of Starship, the giant, fully reusable vehicle designed to help humanity settle Mars and the moon. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 21 Dec. 2025

Moskowitz has reported live from rocket launches, space shuttle liftoffs and landings, suborbital spaceflight training, mountaintop observatories, and more. —Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2025

During the brief, suborbital flight, Koenigsmann will serve as Benthaus’ companion — ready to step in to assist her if the need arises. —Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for suborbital

• infraorbital
• postorbital
• interorbital
• periorbital
• supraorbital
• orbital

Medical Definition

suborbital

adjective

sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bət-ᵊl 

: situated or occurring beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye

suborbital fat