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orbit

Syllabification: (or·bit)
Pronunciation: /ˈôrbit/
Translate orbit | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of orbit

noun

  • 1the curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a star, planet, or moon, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.
  • one complete circuit around an orbited body.
  • the state of being on or moving in an orbit:planets in orbit around the sun
  • the path of an electron around an atomic nucleus.
  • 2a sphere of activity, interest, or application:a radical filmmaker outside the Hollywood orbit
  • 3 Anatomy the cavity in the skull of a vertebrate that contains the eye; the eye socket.
  • the area around the eye of a bird or other animal.

verb (orbits, orbiting, orbited)

[with object]
  • (of a celestial object or spacecraft) move in orbit around (a star, planet, or moon):Mercury orbits the Sun
  • [no object] fly or move around in a circle:the mobile’s disks spun and orbited slowly
  • put (a satellite) into orbit.

Phrases

into orbit

informal into a state of heightened performance, activity, anger, or excitement:his goal sent the fans into orbit

Origin:

mid 16th century (orbit (sense 3 of the noun)): from Latin orbita 'course, track' (in medieval Latin 'eye socket'), feminine of orbitus 'circular', from orbis 'ring'

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings that begin with a vowel to a word that ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (orbits, orbiting, orbited).

orbit in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of orbit in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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