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
How does orbital compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
To help power those orbital data centers, SpaceX said it plans to build a new solar factory in Bastrop, Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
SpaceX, the company owned by Elon Musk, achieved a record 165 orbital launches in 2025 and also conducted several test flights of its Starship megarocket.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
"If the orbital speed of the binaries is less than the kick speed, the wide binaries will become gravitationally unbound," Fuller explains.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
That's the vision behind an Indian private rocket company that will attempt its first orbital launch on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
That wasn’t exactly a confidence builder for the man preparing to ride it into orbit, but it was the more powerful Atlas that would be required to accelerate the Mercury capsule to orbital velocity.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Definitions 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.
