Jupiter

American  

[joo-pi-ter] / ˈdʒu pɪ tər /

noun

1. Also called Jove. the supreme deity of the ancient Romans: the god of the heavens and of weather.

2. Astronomy. the planet fifth in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 88,729 miles (142,796 km), a mean distance from the sun of 483.6 million miles (778.3 million km), a period of revolution of 11.86 years, and at least 14 moons. It is the largest planet in the solar system.

3. Military. a medium-range U.S. ballistic missile of the 1950s, powered by a single liquid-fueled rocket engine.

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Jupiter ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒuːpɪtə /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Zeus. (in Roman tradition) the king and ruler of the Olympian gods

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Jupiter ² British  

/ ˈdʒuːpɪtə /

noun

1. the largest of the planets and the fifth from the sun. It has 67 satellites and is surrounded by a transient planar ring system consisting of dust particles. Mean distance from sun: 778 million km; period of revolution around sun: 11.86 years; period of axial rotation: 9.83 hours; diameter and mass: 11.2 and 317.9 times that of earth respectively See Galilean satellite

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Jupiter Scientific  

/ jo̅o̅′pĭ-tər /

1. The fifth planet from the Sun and the largest, with a diameter about 11 times that of Earth. Jupiter is a gas giant made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. It turns on its axis faster than any other planet in the solar system, taking less than ten hours to complete one rotation; this rapid rotation draws its atmospheric clouds into distinct belts parallel to its equator. Jupiter has more known moons by far than any other planet in the solar system—as many as 63, with new ones being discovered regularly in recent years—and it has a faint ring system that was unknown until 1979, when the Voyager space probe investigated the planet. A persistent anticyclonic storm known as the Great Red Spot is Jupiter's most prominent feature.

2. See Table at solar system

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Jupiter ¹ Cultural  

1. In astronomy, the largest planet in the solar system; the fifth major planet from the sun. Jupiter is largely composed of gas es. It is named after the ruler of the Roman gods (see under “Mythology and Folklore”). Jupiter is visible from Earth.

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Jupiter ² Cultural  

1. The Roman name of Zeus, the most powerful of the gods of classical mythology.

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Discover More

The fifth and largest planet from the sun (the Earth is third) is named Jupiter.

Compare meaning

How does jupiter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Jupiter vs. Zeus

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Jupiter

"It's no longer the same city I grew up in," resident Einat Jupiter said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

"Juice's journey to Jupiter provides only a few opportunities to calibrate and validate the instruments under well-understood environmental conditions," explains Juice project scientist Claire Vallat, who led the effort.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

It will make detailed observations of gas giant Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons - Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

Juice will monitor Jupiter's complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons, studying the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giant systems across the Universe.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

It is not known whether she really thought she could go against the decrees of the Fates, which Jupiter himself could not do, but certainly she did her best to drown Aeneas.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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