as in circling
to travel completely around
the moon orbits the Earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of orbiting
Even as this risk rises rapidly, there are still plans for launching mega constellations of tiny satellites akin to those that are already orbiting as part of SpaceX’s Starlink system, along with a newly emerging push for orbital data centers such as Nvidia’s Starcloud.
—
Humberto Basilio, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2025
While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up.
—Eric Lagatta, AZCentral.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Akatsuki spent a decade orbiting the planet and was well beyond its design lifetime when its mission ended, giving unprecedented looks at the hellish atmosphere of Venus.
—Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2025
In addition, a startup called Starcloud successfully launched its first test satellite, outfitted with an Nvidia AI GPU, this past weekend, with the goal of developing its own network orbiting data centers.
—PC Magazine, 4 Nov. 2025
Twenty-five years of an uninterrupted glimpse into Earth's cosmic neighborhood made possible only by a station orbiting about 260 miles high.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Advertisement That kind of orbiting infrastructure does not come cheap.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Copernicus famously recognized that the Earth wasn’t a privileged location, and was just an ordinary planet orbiting the Sun like Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were.
—Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
But as researchers have discovered more moonlike objects in our solar system—including 128 moons orbiting Saturn just this year—our concept of what counts as a moon has been forced to expand.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025
Humberto Basilio, Scientific American, 7 Nov. 2025
While most satellite internet services operate from single geostationary satellites orbiting Earth at about 22,236 miles, Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that operate from a low-Earth orbit, about 341 miles up.
—Eric Lagatta, AZCentral.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Akatsuki spent a decade orbiting the planet and was well beyond its design lifetime when its mission ended, giving unprecedented looks at the hellish atmosphere of Venus.
—Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2025
In addition, a startup called Starcloud successfully launched its first test satellite, outfitted with an Nvidia AI GPU, this past weekend, with the goal of developing its own network orbiting data centers.
—PC Magazine, 4 Nov. 2025
Twenty-five years of an uninterrupted glimpse into Earth's cosmic neighborhood made possible only by a station orbiting about 260 miles high.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Advertisement That kind of orbiting infrastructure does not come cheap.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Copernicus famously recognized that the Earth wasn’t a privileged location, and was just an ordinary planet orbiting the Sun like Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were.
—Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
But as researchers have discovered more moonlike objects in our solar system—including 128 moons orbiting Saturn just this year—our concept of what counts as a moon has been forced to expand.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
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But prior to the moon landing itself, NASA will send a crew of four Artemis 2 astronauts in 2026 on a 10-day mission circling our celestial neighbor.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
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While rumors of an IPO had been circling for years, Covid and then unfavorable market conditions forced them to delay plans.—
Michal Lev-Ram, CNBC Contributor,
CNBC,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The interstellar object is currently traversing the solar system, offering researchers a rare opportunity to study material from beyond our cosmic neighborhood.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
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Mariners traversing the bar are urged to exercise extreme caution or stay in port until the threat subsides.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There is a lot of red—99 naval and coast guard vessels, to be precise, completely encircling Taiwan during PLA exercises last December.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
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The vents encircling the stand’s rounded top handle cooling.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Orbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbiting. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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