as in circling
to travel completely around
the moon orbits the Earth
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Recent Examples of orbiting
After the probe reaches the asteroid by August 2029, the spacecraft will begin orbiting its namesake while snapping photographs and mapping the surface.
—
Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 20 May 2026
The space station was orbiting 269 miles (433 kilometers) above Earth, specifically above South America's Patagonia region, when this photograph was taken.
—Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 20 May 2026
SpaceX also plans to launch thousands of orbiting data centers powered by the sun that would perform AI calculations.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
The other outer giants — Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter — all have a broadly similar, orderly set of satellites, with several larger moons orbiting in the same direction as the host planet’s rotation.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
For decades, the total number of satellites orbiting Earth numbered about 4,000, but in the last five years that number has grown to about 14,000.
—Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026
The plan for the 2028 mission, Artemis IV, is for Starship’s upper stage to dock with Orion while orbiting the moon, then shuttle NASA’s crew down to the lunar surface.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 17 May 2026
Purchasing enough orbiting interceptors to destroy roughly 10 incoming ballistic missiles would cost about $720 billion, the CBO estimates.
—Nik Popli, Time, 12 May 2026
In 2022, similar detection work resulted in NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which slammed the DART spacecraft into the small asteroid Dimorphos orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, changing the orbits of both child and parent around the sun.
—New Atlas, 10 May 2026
Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 20 May 2026
The space station was orbiting 269 miles (433 kilometers) above Earth, specifically above South America's Patagonia region, when this photograph was taken.
—Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 20 May 2026
SpaceX also plans to launch thousands of orbiting data centers powered by the sun that would perform AI calculations.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
The other outer giants — Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter — all have a broadly similar, orderly set of satellites, with several larger moons orbiting in the same direction as the host planet’s rotation.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
For decades, the total number of satellites orbiting Earth numbered about 4,000, but in the last five years that number has grown to about 14,000.
—Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026
The plan for the 2028 mission, Artemis IV, is for Starship’s upper stage to dock with Orion while orbiting the moon, then shuttle NASA’s crew down to the lunar surface.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 17 May 2026
Purchasing enough orbiting interceptors to destroy roughly 10 incoming ballistic missiles would cost about $720 billion, the CBO estimates.
—Nik Popli, Time, 12 May 2026
In 2022, similar detection work resulted in NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which slammed the DART spacecraft into the small asteroid Dimorphos orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, changing the orbits of both child and parent around the sun.
—New Atlas, 10 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
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He’s being eyed for the lead after Ryan Gosling, who had been circling the role, exited the project due to creative differences and scheduling conflicts.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
20 May 2026
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If creditors are circling and survivor benefits represent a significant portion of your income, knowing your rights and exploring your debt relief options can make a meaningful difference.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Verb
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By traversing sonic ground across its 10 tracks that transports listeners from the open expanses of Montana to the Mississippi Hill Country, Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen effectively weave a tapestry that knits together a throughline between foundational Americana genres.—
Chris Barilla,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
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The 49ers’ travel miles for the 2026 regular season amount to 38,105 air miles, the most ever according to sports betting analyst Bill Speros, as well as traversing 58 time zones, breaking the previous record of 42.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Bad weather postponed a major construction project on Atlanta's primary highway encircling the city last weekend, but now the traffic chaos is here.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
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By using drones to interdict supply lines from a distance, Ukrainian forces can impose the effects of a siege without physically encircling a city, redefining how an opponent can be isolated in modern warfare.—
Vikram Mittal,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Orbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbiting. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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