apogee

[ap-uh-jee]

noun

1. Astronomy.,  the point in the orbit of a heavenly body, especially the moon, or of a man-made satellite at which it is farthest from the earth.

2. the highest or most distant point; climax.

apogee

/ ˈæpəˌdʒiː /

noun

1. the point in its orbit around the earth when the moon or an artificial satellite is at its greatest distance from the earth Compare perigee

2. the highest point

apogee

1. The point farthest from Earth's center in the orbit of the Moon or an artificial satellite.

2. The point in an orbit that is most distant from the body being orbited.

3. Compare aphelion perigee

apogee

1. In astronomy, the point during the orbit of a satellite, such as the moon, at which it is farthest from the body being orbited. For planets in the solar system orbiting the sun, their farthest point from the sun is referred to as aphelion.

Other Word Forms

• apogean adjective
• apogeal adjective
• apogeic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of apogee¹

1585–95; alteration (after French apogée ) of earlier apogaeum < Latin < Greek apógaion ( diástema ) off-earth (distance), neuter of apógaios (adj.), equivalent to apo- apo- + gáïos of the earth, derivative of gaîa, variant of gê the earth

Word History and Origins

Origin of apogee¹

C17: from New Latin apogaeum (influenced by French apogée ), from Greek apogaion, from apogaios away from the earth, from _apo- + gaia earth

Example Sentences

But over the years, occasional and fitful progress was halted by bouts of bloodletting that reached a brutal apogee a generation later, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct.

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The Moon's furthest point from the Earth is known as apogee.

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“Soon the replacement of the whites within Texas will hit its apogee.”

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Wade may have been the culmination of the anti-abortion movement, but may also mark its apogee.

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The Moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical which means there are times when it is further away - apogee - and times when it is closer - perigee.

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Related Words

• apex