comet

noun

com·​et ˈkä-mət 

: a celestial body that appears as a fuzzy head usually surrounding a bright nucleus, that has a usually highly eccentric orbit, that consists primarily of ice and dust, and that often develops one or more long tails when near the sun

cometary

ˈkä-mə-ˌter-ē 

adjective

cometic

kə-ˈme-tik 

kä-

adjective

Examples of comet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Taurids occur when the Earth passes through a trail of debris from the comet Encke. —Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025

The ingredients of an interstellar comet Comets are like dirty snowballs left over from the formation of solar systems. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025

The two showers are grouped together because scientists believe that both the asteroid and the comet are fragments of a single, much larger object that broke up some 20,000 years ago, leaving a collection of debris known collectively as the Encke Complex. —Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2025

An ancient comet that entered our solar system this summer is offering a rare opportunity to learn more about distant planetary systems far beyond the reach of any spacecraft, researchers say. —NPR, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English comete, from Old English cometa, from Latin, from Greek komētēs, literally, long-haired, from koman to wear long hair, from komē hair

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for comet

• grommet
• vomit
• recommit

Kids Definition

comet

noun

com·​et ˈkäm-ət 

: a bright heavenly body that develops a cloudy tail as it moves closer to the sun in its orbit

Etymology

Old English cometa "comet," from Latin cometa (same meaning), from Greek komētēs, literally, "long-haired," derived from komē "hair" — related to coma entry 2