orbit

American  

[awr-bit] / ˈɔr bɪt /

noun

• orbits
  plural

1. the curved path, usually elliptical, taken by a planet, satellite, spaceship, etc., around a celestial body, as the sun.

2. the usual course of one's life or range of one's activities.

3. the sphere of power or influence, as of a nation or person.

   a small nation in the Russian orbit.

4. Physics. (in theBohr model ) the path traced by an electron revolving around the nucleus of an atom.

5. an orb or sphere.

6. Anatomy.

   1. the bony cavity of the skull that contains the eye; eye socket.

   2. the eye.

7. Zoology. the part surrounding the eye of a bird or insect.

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verb (used with object)

• orbits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• orbited,
  past participle,  past
• orbiting
  present participle

1. to move or travel around in an orbital or elliptical path.

   The earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days.

2. to send into orbit, as a satellite.

verb (used without object)

• orbits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• orbited,
  past participle,  past
• orbiting
  present participle

1. to go or travel in an orbit.

orbit British  

/ ˈɔːbɪt /

noun

1. astronomy the curved path, usually elliptical, followed by a planet, satellite, comet, etc, in its motion around another celestial body under the influence of gravitation

2. a range or field of action or influence; sphere

   he is out of my orbit

3. Nontechnical name: eye socket. anatomy the bony cavity containing the eyeball

4. zoology

   1. the skin surrounding the eye of a bird

   2. the hollow in which lies the eye or eyestalk of an insect or other arthropod

5. physics the path of an electron in its motion around the nucleus of an atom

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verb

1. to move around (a body) in a curved path, usually circular or elliptical

2. (tr) to send (a satellite, spacecraft, etc) into orbit

3. (intr) to move in or as if in an orbit

orbit Scientific  

/ ôr′bĭt /

1. The path followed by a celestial body or artificial satellite as it revolves around another body due to the force of gravity. Orbits are nearly elliptical or circular in shape and are very closely approximated by Kepler's laws of planetary motion.

2. One complete revolution of such a body.

3. See Note at solar system

4. A stable quantum state of an electron (or other particle) in motion around an atomic nucleus.

5. See more at orbital

6. Either of two bony hollows in the skull containing the eye and its associated structures.

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1. To move in an orbit around another body.

2. To put into an orbit, as a satellite is put into orbit around the Earth.

orbit Cultural  

1. In astronomy, the path followed by an object revolving around another object, under the influence of gravitation (see satellite). In physics, the path followed by an electron within an atom. The planets follow elliptical orbits around the sun (see ellipse).

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orbit Idioms  

1. see in orbit.

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Discover More

Informally, something is “in orbit” when its actions are controlled by an external agency or force: “The countries of eastern Europe were once in the orbit of the Soviet Union.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonorbiting
  adjective
• orbitary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• orbits
  plural

Participles

• orbiting
  present
• orbited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• orbit
  simple
• orbits
  simple
• have orbited
  perfect
• has orbited
  perfect
• am orbiting
  progressive
• are orbiting
  progressive
• is orbiting
  progressive
• have been orbiting
  perfect progressive
• has been orbiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• orbited
  simple
• had orbited
  perfect
• was orbiting
  progressive
• were orbiting
  progressive
• had been orbiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will orbit
  simple
• will have orbited
  perfect
• will be orbiting
  progressive
• will have been orbiting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of orbit

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin orbita wheel track, course, circuit

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Explanation

To orbit is to follow a circular or elliptical path around a central body. Usually a planet, moon or satellite is described as orbiting, but a child who has too much sugar can sometimes orbit around his parents in an annoying fashion. Orbit comes from the Latin orbita, “course,” or “track.” The verb orbit is the act of revolving around another object, usually on a circular or elliptical course. Many planets, moons, stars, meteors spacecraft and other objects in outer space orbit around each other. Electrons also orbit around the nucleus of an atom. The noun orbit is the path the object in orbit takes: "The Earth’s orbit around the Sun takes one year to complete."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orbit orbits orbited orbiting

Starlink is a civilian service that uses satellites in low Earth orbit to provide internet access, particularly in remote areas.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Potter now expects AST SpaceMobile to have 18 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026, down from his previous estimate of 45.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

On October 3, Pyongyang test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that Kim Yo Jong said employed unspecified artificial intelligence technology and was "capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude".

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

The same goes for Milton Friedman, who remained in the fusionist orbit for a long time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

I’d seen screenshots of IOI-1’s surface before, but they’d been low-res and taken from high orbit, just beyond the planet’s impressive defense grid.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Their movement disturbed the orbits of smaller objects, setting off catastrophic collisions and producing brief periods filled with large amounts of dust, similar to what astronomers now observe in extreme debris disks.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

“Everything orbits around Shohei, in the sense of his talent,” Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The 407-foot-tall rocket is embarking on a nearly 10-hour mission in which it is to complete six orbits around the Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Now in its initial orbital mission, Starship is expected to fly at an altitude about 275 kilometers above Earth and complete as many as six orbits around the planet over the course of several hours.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Some of these fixed stars do, in fact, appear to change very slightly their positions relative to each other as the earth orbits around the sun: they are not really fixed at all!

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

Yet it was still an undoubted factor considering the team had orbited around Isak, who scored 27 goals in the previous season.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

Back in 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the Moon 10 times without landing.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

Among the many faulty narratives that orbited out of the government, one asked us to consider the mental anguish suffered by these dispatched officers.

From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2026

But, all these years later, I was reminded that Ozzy, despite his well-crafted Prince of Darkness persona, was the sun that brought brightness and warmth to the familial chaos that orbited around him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025

The Soviet ambassador introduced Pushinka, daughter to Strelka, who had orbited earth in a Soviet spacecraft.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Many questions remain about systems like this one, including how second-generation planets form, whether they are common or exceptionally rare, and how they change while orbiting a "dead" star.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026

Four new crew members for the ISS docked at the orbiting laboratory last week and will stay for approximately six months.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The job of the orbiting receivers now was to determine in a split second which of Aurich’s variations would work in that particular scenario.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

It is still orbiting within its young star's dusty disk, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study planet formation while it is still happening.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

It took so long for starlight to reach me in the sluggers’ ship orbiting Earth that some of those stars were already dead.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

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Related Words

• path
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