meteor
Origin of meteor
OTHER WORDS FROM meteor
me·te·or·like, adjectiveWords nearby meteor
Other definitions for meteor (2 of 2)
MORE ABOUT METEOR
What is a meteor?
AÂ meteor is space matter that has entered Earthâs atmosphere, as in I was able to see a meteor enter our atmosphere last night through my telescope.
A meteor is also the bright, fiery streak that is visible in the sky when a meteor burns up. Meteors are often referred to as shooting stars or falling stars.
Simply put, a meteor is a meteoroid that has entered Earthâs atmosphere. A meteoroid is a small body of matter usually composed of dust or rock that travels through outer space. A meteor that reaches Earthâs surface is called a meteorite.
Meteor is sometimes used figuratively to mean something that moves or advances at high speed, as in The new rock band was a meteor that shot up the charts.
The adjective meteoric describes something involved with or related to a meteor. Meteoric is also used to describe something that resembles a meteor in terms of brightness or speed, as in We were amazed by her meteoric rise to stardom in Hollywood.
A large number of meteors traveling through Earthâs surface at one time is called a meteor shower.
Example: She took great pictures of last nightâs meteor as it zoomed across the sky.
Where does meteor come from?
The first records of meteor come from around 1570. It ultimately comes from the Greek metĂ©Ćron, meaning âa thing in the air.â At one time, meteor was used to refer to any phenomenon in the air, such as a typhoon or a hailstorm. This is why scientists that study weather are called meteorologists.
As meteors travel through Earthâs atmosphere, they usually burn up because of the friction caused by their speed mixing with the atmosphere. This burning causes a bright streak to appear in the sky, which is why we sometimes call them shooting (or falling) stars, even though theyâre not stars at all.
Meteors and meteoroids are much smaller than comets or asteroids, which also travel through space.
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What are some other forms related to meteor?
- meteorlike (adjective)
What are some synonyms for meteor?
What are some words that share a root or word element with meteor?
What are some words that often get used in discussing meteor?
What are some words meteor may be commonly confused with?
How is meteor used in real life?
Meteors move through Earthâs atmosphere on a regular basis, and stargazers always enjoy watching them.
LIVE: Spot the Perseid meteors in the night sky! âïž
Starting now, enjoy an overnight live stream from our Meteor Watch camera at @NASA_Marshall: https://t.co/mzKW5uV4hS pic.twitter.com/nawgU3tmpo
— NASA (@NASA) August 12, 2020
It is hard to photograph a meteor. Even though some 25 million of them hurtle toward Earth each day, most of them are too small to track. But Prasenjeet Yadav managed to get one anyway, entirely by accident over Mettupalayam. Beautiful. Isn't it. https://t.co/nHYUzoDRNS pic.twitter.com/IbaGNNvK4A
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) June 8, 2020
Quite a few people saying they saw a meteor over the North of England this evening – anyone else? Sounds like a bright one.
— Brian Cox (@ProfBrianCox) December 31, 2017
Try using meteor!
True or False?
A meteor is a chunk of rock that travels through space.
How to use meteor in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for meteor
Word Origin for meteor
Scientific definitions for meteor
Usage
The streaks of light we sometimes see in the night sky and call meteors were not identified as interplanetary rocks until the 19th century. Before then, the streaks of light were considered only one of a variety of atmospheric phenomena, all of which bore the name meteor. Rain was an aqueous meteor, winds and storms were airy meteors, and streaks of light in the sky were fiery meteors. This general use of meteor survives in our word meteorology, the study of the weather and atmospheric phenomena. Nowadays, astronomers use any of three words for rocks from interplanetary space, depending on their stage of descent to the Earth. A meteoroid is a rock in space that has the potential to collide with the Earth's atmosphere. Meteoroids range in size from a speck of dust to a chunk about 100 meters in diameter, though most are smaller than a pebble. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. The light that it gives off when heated by friction with the atmosphere is also called a meteor. If the rock is not obliterated by the friction and lands on the ground, it is called a meteorite. For this term, scientists borrowed the -ite suffix used in the names of minerals like malachite and pyrite.
Cultural definitions for meteor
A streak of light in the sky, often called a âshooting star,â that occurs when a bit of extraterrestrial matter falls into the atmosphere of the Earth and burns up.