as in circling
to travel completely around
the moon orbits the Earth
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Recent Examples of orbiting
This is the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the fourth trip for Fincke, and the second for Yui, to the orbiting laboratory.
—
Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 June 2026
In 1981, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen landed the Space Shuttle Columbia on that same dry lake bed, making history as the first orbiting space vehicle to leave Earth using rocket power and come back on an aircraft's wings.
—ABC News, 16 June 2026
Soon another star orbiting the sports world may be giving superfans reason to dress up and tear up.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 16 June 2026
The company reported successfully tracking an object orbiting at 143 miles (230 kilometers) above Earth.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026
Today, SpaceX operates more than 10,000 Starlink satellites, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft orbiting Earth.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Those created by asteroids colliding with each other are essentially shrapnel orbiting the sun and can come from anywhere in the sky at any time, so they’re called sporadic meteors.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 12 June 2026
But the hammer blow arrived in 2014 when the spiritual successor to Giotto, ESA’s Rosetta mission, made history by orbiting and sending a lander to the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a comet shaped like a giant rubber duck.
—Quanta Magazine, 12 June 2026
Getting Canadarm2 back online will be critical to berth some cargo ships at the space station, which carry food, equipment and other supplies to the astronauts, as well as to perform a share of maintenance on the orbiting complex.
—Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 12 June 2026
Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 June 2026
In 1981, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen landed the Space Shuttle Columbia on that same dry lake bed, making history as the first orbiting space vehicle to leave Earth using rocket power and come back on an aircraft's wings.
—ABC News, 16 June 2026
Soon another star orbiting the sports world may be giving superfans reason to dress up and tear up.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 16 June 2026
The company reported successfully tracking an object orbiting at 143 miles (230 kilometers) above Earth.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026
Today, SpaceX operates more than 10,000 Starlink satellites, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft orbiting Earth.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Those created by asteroids colliding with each other are essentially shrapnel orbiting the sun and can come from anywhere in the sky at any time, so they’re called sporadic meteors.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 12 June 2026
But the hammer blow arrived in 2014 when the spiritual successor to Giotto, ESA’s Rosetta mission, made history by orbiting and sending a lander to the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a comet shaped like a giant rubber duck.
—Quanta Magazine, 12 June 2026
Getting Canadarm2 back online will be critical to berth some cargo ships at the space station, which carry food, equipment and other supplies to the astronauts, as well as to perform a share of maintenance on the orbiting complex.
—Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
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Other wearable tech companies have been circling this space.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
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Soon the sky would grow thick with circling helicopters and would stay that way for more than a week, the cutting of their rotor blades ominous and heartbreaking.—
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
Verb
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For him, the perfect Sunday involves traversing the city, checking out record stores and visiting museums like the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City.—
Lisa Boone,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
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Carrasco originally planned to travel to the United States independently and then bring the rest of the family, but Aponte insisted the family face the journey, which included traversing several countries and jungles, together.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Styled by Brad Goreski, Moore wore a custom cobalt blue Self Portrait gown with an oversized bow encircling the hips, falling into a train.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
22 May 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Orbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbiting. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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