meteor

¹

[ mee-tee-er, -awr ]

noun

1. Astronomy.
   1. a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere.
   2. a transient fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or bolide.
2. any person or object that moves, progresses, becomes famous, etc., with spectacular speed.
3. (formerly) any atmospheric phenomenon, as hail or a typhoon.
4. Meteor, Military. Britain's first operational jet fighter, a twin-engine aircraft that entered service in 1944.

meteor.

²

abbreviation for

1. meteorological.
2. meteorology.

meteor

/ ˈmiːtɪə /

noun

1. a very small meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere. Such objects have speeds approaching 70 kilometres per second
2. Also calledshooting starfalling star the bright streak of light appearing in the sky due to the incandescence of such a body heated by friction at its surface

meteor

/ mē′tē-ər /

1. A bright trail or streak of light that appears in the night sky when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere. The friction with the air causes the rock to glow with heat.
2. Also called shooting star
3. A rocky body that produces such light. Most meteors burn up before reaching the Earth's surface.
4. See Note at solar system

meteor

1. A streak of light in the sky, often called a “shooting star,” that occurs when a bit of extraterrestrial matter falls into the atmosphere of the Earth and burns up.

Notes

Meteor showers occur at regular times during the year.

Other Words From

• mete·or·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of meteor¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from New Latin meteōrum, from Greek metéōron “meteor, a thing in the air,” noun use of neuter of metéōros “raised in the air,” equivalent to met- met- + eōr- (variant stem of aeírein “to raise”) + -os adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of meteor¹

C15: from Medieval Latin meteōrum, from Greek meteōron something aloft, from meteōros lofty, from meta- (intensifier) + aeirein to raise

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.

Example Sentences

Instead, bundle up, head outside and look up, because meteors can streak through any part of the sky.

From Science News

The sudden flash of a shooting star is a delight, and its luster isn’t dimmed by the knowledge that meteor showers are merely the visible manifestation of space dust.

From Science News

Over billions of years, asteroids and meteors have slammed into the moon.

From Science News For Students

Rare meteors might even be able to travel between Mars and Earth in a few months or years.

From Science News For Students

Scientists were so busy searching for the asteroid 2012 DA14, they missed the meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013 — leaving meteorites scattered behind.

From Science News For Students

A meteor streaked across Russia last Friday, igniting the sky with an ethereal explosion of light.

From The Daily Beast

Astrophysicists say it was a bolide, or a meteor that explodes in the air.

From The Daily Beast

Some industrious Chelyabinsk citizen has already offered to sell a piece of the meteor for a souvenir.

From The Daily Beast

The idea had a short but powerful resonance: why did the meteor explode above ground, people wondered?

From The Daily Beast

This RT video shows an office getting its window blown out by the shockwave from the meteor.

From The Daily Beast

But it was all swift as a passing meteor, and when I looked a second time his face was normal and he was looking among the trees.

From Project Gutenberg

And darned if each meteor didn't strike dead center of each plant network.

From Project Gutenberg

Yesterday morning, about an hour before sunrise, a bright meteor was seen in the south-west.

From Project Gutenberg

Unfortunately 'Meteor' and 'Iverna' were not competing, the former having damaged her gaff.

From Project Gutenberg

The salons held beautifully-dressed women, distinguished-looking men, lying about as the meteor's shock had hurled them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• meteoroid
• shooting star

More About Meteor

What is a meteor?

A meteor is space matter that has entered Earth’s 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 Earth’s atmosphere. A meteoroid is a small body of matter usually composed of dust or rock that travels through outer space. A meteor that reaches Earth’s 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 Earth’s surface at one time is called a meteor shower.

Example: She took great pictures of last night’s 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 metéōron, meaning “a thing in the air.” 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 Earth’s 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 they’re not stars at all.

Meteors and meteoroids are much smaller than comets or asteroids, which also travel through space.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to meteor?

• meteorlike (adjective)

What are some synonyms for meteor?

• shooting star
• falling star

What are some words that share a root or word element with meteor?

• meteoric
• meteoroid
• meteorite
• meteor shower
• meteorology

What are some words that often get used in discussing meteor?

• outer space
• rock
• atmosphere
• celestial

What are some words meteor may be commonly confused with?

• meteoroid
• meteorite

How is meteor used in real life?

Meteors move through Earth’s atmosphere on a regular basis, and stargazers always enjoy watching them.

LIVE: Spot the Perseid meteors in the night sky! ☄️

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.