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 Transits favor planets orbiting close to their stars, particularly large planets that block more starlight and complete their orbits frequently. Thomas Fauchez, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026 The two orbiting observatories collectively discovered 27 new Trans-Neptunian Objects, or TNOs, all less than 25 miles (40 kilometers) across, with the smallest being only 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 14 Sep. 2026 The early days of our solar system were chaotic, marked by violent interactions as a multitude of space rocks orbiting the sun crashed into other objects. Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026 Happily—if that’s the right word to use—there are probably no planets orbiting S301. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 4 Sep. 2026 In 2001, Canadarm2 was attached to the International Space Station and used to help build the orbiting laboratory. Joanna Goodrich, IEEE Spectrum, 2 Sep. 2026 This experimental, eclipse-creating coronagraph will allow Roman to directly image any planet, however faint, that might be orbiting the masked star. Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
  • Ohtani returned to the lineup Monday and felt something in his arm after a swing, circling his right arm afterward.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Sasha and Morgan have been circling something neither of them has been able to admit to.
    Katie Campione, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • And yet the nugget of knowledge from his vast experience of traversing 120 yards (110 metres) via two 60-yard lengths in a trench – dug 4ft deep and 3ft wide in a Welsh field – filled with murky, mucky river water is not a tip about technique.
    Rob Tanner, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • In a satiric short video, Rabid Dogs, 2002, for example, white-collar workers dress upas rapacious canines, clutching Burberry bags in their mouths and traversing cubicles on all fours.
    Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 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 16 Sep. 2026.

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