as in circling
to travel completely around
the moon orbits the Earth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of orbiting
Planet Nine is believed to be between five and 10 times the mass of Earth and would be orbiting the sun far beyond Pluto, at around 550 times the distance between Earth and the sun.
—
Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Mimas also has water Saturn's system is positively teeming with moons, where Enceladus is one of 274 natural satellites orbiting the ringed planet.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
This dust finds its way into the zodiacal cloud – a thick dust cloud orbiting the Sun within the inner solar system.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 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, 2 Oct. 2025
However, scientists are seizing the opportunity to watch the comet in real time from beyond Earth using a fleet of ESA and NASA planetary missions already orbiting the inner solar system.
—Victoria Corless, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2025
In April of this year, Kessler and Hugh Lewis, professor of astronautics at the University of Birmingham, in England, presented their latest models, concluding that space junk orbiting between 400 and 1,000 kilometers—where most low Earth satellites operate—is already unstable.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
In 1921 Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara theorized that two vortices spinning through fluid (which is exactly what tropical cyclones are) could come close enough to each other to begin orbiting a common central point.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2025
Certification is a necessary precursor for allowing a vehicle to approach the orbiting laboratory.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025
Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Mimas also has water Saturn's system is positively teeming with moons, where Enceladus is one of 274 natural satellites orbiting the ringed planet.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
This dust finds its way into the zodiacal cloud – a thick dust cloud orbiting the Sun within the inner solar system.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 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, 2 Oct. 2025
However, scientists are seizing the opportunity to watch the comet in real time from beyond Earth using a fleet of ESA and NASA planetary missions already orbiting the inner solar system.
—Victoria Corless, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2025
In April of this year, Kessler and Hugh Lewis, professor of astronautics at the University of Birmingham, in England, presented their latest models, concluding that space junk orbiting between 400 and 1,000 kilometers—where most low Earth satellites operate—is already unstable.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
In 1921 Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara theorized that two vortices spinning through fluid (which is exactly what tropical cyclones are) could come close enough to each other to begin orbiting a common central point.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 29 Sep. 2025
Certification is a necessary precursor for allowing a vehicle to approach the orbiting laboratory.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
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News broke from Deadline at the Zurich Summit on September 27 that Hollywood talent agents have been quietly circling Norwood for representation.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
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Over the weekend, Deadline reported several talent agencies were circling Norwood.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Many of the activities, such as hiking in Pisgah National Forest, viewing Looking Glass Falls, and traversing Sliding Rock in season, are outdoor-centric.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
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Trails have suffered erosion, so take care while traversing them.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The designs feature a star with water and green hills; a whale in water with a white bird underneath; and three turkey feathers encircling a chickadee.—
Chris Van Buskirk,
Boston Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
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In the image from 1984, Prow Knob is almost entirely surrounded by the Alsek Glacier, but by 1999, the glacier had retreated, encircling only half of the mountain.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Orbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbiting. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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