Ceres

American  

[seer-eez] / ˈsɪər iz /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a pre-Roman goddess of agriculture under whose name the Romans adopted the worship of the Greek goddess Demeter.

2. Astronomy. one of the brightest and by far the largest asteroid in our solar system, discovered in 1801 and located in the asteroid belt: the first asteroid to be discovered, Ceres is also classified as a dwarf planet.

3. a town in central California.

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Ceres ¹ British  

/ ˈsɪəriːz /

noun

1. the smallest dwarf planet in the solar system, located in the asteroid belt. It has a diameter of 930 kilometres

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Ceres ² British  

/ ˈsɪəriːz /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Demeter.  the Roman goddess of agriculture

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Ceres Scientific  

/ sîr′ēz /

1. The closest dwarf planet to the Sun , with an orbit in the asteroid belt. Ceres was the first object in the asteroid belt to be discovered (1801). Initially considered a planet, it was reclassified as an asteroid in the mid-1800s and as a dwarf planet in 2006. It has a diameter of about 960 km (595 mi).

2. See more at dwarf planet

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Ceres Cultural  

1. The Roman name for Demeter, the Greek and Roman goddess of agriculture.

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Etymology

Origin of Ceres

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin Cerēs, the goddess of grain and mother of Persephone; as a common noun, “wheat, corn; bread, food”

Example Sentences

The frameworks have been endorsed by several nonprofits including Ceres, the Nature Conservancy and the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2025

“It’s scary,” said Christine Gemperle, an almond farmer in Ceres, near Modesto.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2025

That is why astrobiologists are increasingly turning their eyes toward icy bodies like the Jovian moons of Europa and Ganymede, Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, Uranus' moon Miranda and the dwarf planet Ceres.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2025

The coastguard says it has located and detained Ceres I, sailing under the flag of São Tomé and Príncipe, and two tugboats that were towing the vessel off the country's eastern coast.

From BBC • Jul. 21, 2024

The dryads hastened to Ceres to tell her what had happened, and the goddess, deeply offended, told them she would punish the criminal in a way never known before.

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