orbiting

present participle of orbit

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of orbiting At the same time, the star’s brightness seemed to dim periodically, suggesting an orbiting planet. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 5 Oct. 2026 The planetary system is among the most studied in our galaxy, and its star is known to host 30 orbiting comets and a giant disk of dust and debris, which NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope photographed in detail in 2015. — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026 In the early 1930s, scientists were just beginning to discover the extraordinary world hidden inside the atom, which is made up of a dense center, called the nucleus, with electrons orbiting around it. — Andrea Richard, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2026 That's the fastest any American spacecraft has ever reached the orbiting lab, NASA officials said. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 1 Oct. 2026 An orbiting satellite could afterward use its signal to locate the site and establish a precise lock before transmitting energy. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026 That changed in 2013, when a small, dark body orbiting between Saturn and Uranus passed in front of a star and blinked twice on either side of the main event, revealing two narrow rings around an object barely 250 kilometers across. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 19 Sep. 2026 Naturally, the night called for not one, not two, but three major looks, all orbiting a palette of fall neutrals. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026 The company has told the Federal Communications Commission that some debris from a disposed orbiting data center could survive and land on the Earth, but expects the fragments to be harmless. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
  • The restaurant was loud, with photographers circling the art patrons like vultures.
    — Eileen Kelly, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The possible deal follows major Hollywood studios and streamers earlier circling the movie inspired by the biggest video game of 2025.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Frith has three friends with her when she’s first seen traversing the marshes.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The production’s adventurousness, traversing every corner of Brad Bentz’s scenic design, can have a diffuse effect.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Dumas watched, charmed, his arms encircling his wife’s shoulders, and accepted an ice-cream sundae in a silver parfait cup.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • There are no bleachers, so spectators set up lawn chairs encircling the field.
    — Kelenna Onukwugha, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Orbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbiting. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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