orbital
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or denoting an orbit
-
(of a motorway or major road circuit) circling a large city
noun
-
a region surrounding an atomic nucleus in which the probability distribution of the electrons is given by a wave function
-
an orbital road
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of orbital
1535–45; < New Latin, Medieval Latin orbitālis; see orbit, -al 1
Compare meaning
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Explanation
Something that's orbital has something to do with an orbit. A satellite's orbital path is the exact route it takes as it travels around the Earth. When planets, moons, or spacecraft move around other objects in an orbit — a curved, regular path — you can describe this movement as orbital. An orbital period is the length of time it takes a craft or body to make a complete pass around the object it orbits. Another way to use this adjective is to mean "relating to an eye socket," which is actually its earliest meaning. The Latin root is orbita, "wheel track, beaten path, course, or orbit."
Vocabulary lists containing orbital
Chemistry - High School
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Chemistry - Middle School
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Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) Tribute List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Adenot completed three spacewalks while also becoming the first French woman to venture outside the orbital outpost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The biggest special award, of course, was Elon Musk’s $132 billion blockbuster from Tesla in November, tied in part to establishing a Mars colony and extensive orbital data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Four new crew members for the International Space Station blasted off Thursday for the orbital laboratory where they will stay for approximately six months.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
SpaceX's Starship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after completing about three hours of orbital flight.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
By Rutherford’s reckoning, therefore, the helium atom had two orbital electrons and a nucleus comprising four protons and two electrons; radium had 138 electrons and a nucleus of 226 protons and 88 electrons.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
