adjective
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of, formed by, or relating to meteors
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like a meteor in brilliance, speed, or transience
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rare of or relating to the weather; meteorological
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of meteoric
From the Medieval Latin word meteōricus, dating back to 1625–35. See meteor, -ic
Explanation
Because meteors move through the sky so quickly, we often refer to something moving very fast as meteoric. A newly-popular singer might be said to experience a meteoric rise to the top. (The fall can be meteoric, too.) The "-ic" suffix on a word creates an adjective meaning "with the characteristics of." So meteoric means “having the characteristics of a meteor.” Both words take their origin from the Greek meteōros, meaning "high up." By the way, a shooting star is meteoric, being a meteor that is burning up as it plunges through the earth's atmosphere.
Vocabulary lists containing meteoric
A Need for Speed: Synonyms for "Fast"
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If I Stay
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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.
The transformation of African football at the World Cup has been nothing short of meteoric.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
It was such a meteoric rise that U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino had hardly seen more than a few clips of him.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 20, 2026
Shareholders could be forgiven for assuming insiders were cashing in on the stock’s meteoric rise.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
The jump in SpaceX shares has increasingly looked meteoric.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
Imagine what it must have been like to watch the meteoric rise of Regina and Louis Borgenicht through the eyes of one of their offspring.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
