dwarf planet

American  

[dwawrf plan-it] / ˈdwɔrf ˈplæn ɪt /

noun

Astronomy.

1. a spherical celestial body revolving about the sun, similar to a planet but not large enough to gravitationally clear its orbital region of most or all other celestial bodies. In 2006, the planet Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet.

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dwarf planet British  

noun

1. any celestial body within the solar system that is larger than a satellite but smaller than a planet, and that orbits the sun

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dwarf planet Scientific  

1. A celestial body that orbits the Sun and is massive enough to assume a nearly spherical shape, but that does not clear other bodies from the neighborhood around its orbit and is not a satellite of a planet. Dwarf planets include Ceres, Pluto, and Eris. This category was created by the International Astronomical Union in 2006.

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Etymology

Origin of dwarf planet

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

This broader interpretation also aligns with the finding that Pluto, a dwarf planet, is dominated by rock.

From Science Daily

Since then, Pluto, our beloved ninth planet, has been demoted to a dwarf planet.

From Space Scoop

Pluto is now the most famous dwarf planet, though!

From Space Scoop

Pluto, considered the ninth planet in our solar system until it was reclassified to dwarf planet status in 2006, is thought to have undergone an impact that broke off the largest of its five moons, Charon.

From Salon

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