orbit

The curved path of one object around a point or another body.

Noun

  1. The curved path of one object around a point or another body.

    1. (astronomy) An elliptical movement of an object about a celestial object or Lagrange point, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.

    2. (astronomy) An elliptical movement of an object about a celestial object or Lagrange point, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.

      One complete circuit round an orbited body.

      • The Moon's orbit around the Earth takes nearly one month to complete.

    3. (uncountable) The state of moving in an orbit.

    4. (physics) The path of an electron around an atomic nucleus.

    5. (pinball) A path for the ball on the outer edge of the playfield, usually connected so that the ball entering in one end will come out of the other.

  2. A sphere of influence; an area or extent of activity, interest, or control.
    • In the post WWII era, several eastern European countries came into the orbit of the Soviet Union.
    • The convenience store was a heavily travelled point in her daily orbit, as she purchased both cigarettes and lottery tickets there.
    • Bondi has been inside Trump’s orbit for some time, and is widely seen to have demonstrated her loyalty to Trump during his first term, when she helped with his impeachment defense, and more recently when she repeatedly...
  3. The bony cavity in the skull of a vertebrate containing the eyeball.

    Synonyms: eye socket cranial orbit

    Related: orbita

    1. (zoology) The area around the eye of a bird or other animal.

      Synonyms: eye socket cranial orbit

      Related: orbita

  4. A collection of points related by the evolution function of a dynamical system.
  5. The subset of elements of a set X to which a given element can be moved by members of a specified group of transformations that act on X.
  6. The number of hands such that each player at the table has posted the big blind once.
    • All right, I'll play one more orbit but then I'm leaving!
  7. A state of increased excitement, activity, or anger.
    • Dad went into orbit when I told him that I'd crashed the car.
    • Given a veritable Pagan's Paddock by the Cats to work in on Friday night, Danger booted two goals in the first seven minutes to send Geelong fans into orbit. - 2017 September 18, Andrew McGarry, “AFL finals week two:...

Origin

Inherited from Middle English orbite, orbita, from Latin orbita (“course, track, impression, mark”).

Forms

orbits

Hyponyms

Bohr orbit coorbit escape orbit halo orbit heliosynchronous orbit Hohmann orbit Hohmann transfer orbit innermost stable circular orbit interorbit low energy transfer orbit lunar transfer orbit Mars transfer orbit midorbit P/2 orbit periorbit rectilinear orbit suborbit Sun-synchronous orbit transfer orbit

Derived

banana orbit exorbitism geosynchronous orbit high Earth orbit medium Earth orbit nuke it from orbit orbifold orbital orbitary orbitational orbiter orbitography orbiton orbitopathy orbitotomy orbitrap orbit-stabilizer theorem

Verb

  1. To circle or revolve around another object or position.
    • The Earth orbits the Sun.
    • The satellite orbits the Lagrange point.

    1. (transitive) To place an object (e.g. a satellite) into an orbit around a planet.

      • A rocket was used to orbit the satellite.

      Synonyms: launch

  2. To move around the general vicinity of something.
    • The harried mother had a cloud of children orbiting her, begging for sweets.

    Synonyms: circumambulate tag along

  3. To move in a circle.
  4. To center (around).
    • I have orbited my entire life around you, and you know it, okay? - 2013, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight (motion picture), spoken by Jesse (Ethan Hawke):
  5. To continue to follow or engage with someone by means of social media after breaking up with them.

Forms

orbits orbiting orbited

Antonyms

deorbit

Related

satellite