occultation
Americannoun
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Astronomy. the passage of one celestial body in front of another, thus hiding the other from view: applied especially to the moon's coming between an observer and a star or planet.
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disappearance from view or notice.
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the act of blocking or hiding from view.
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the resulting hidden or concealed state.
noun
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the temporary disappearance of one celestial body as it moves out of sight behind another body
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the act of occulting or the state of being occulted
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of occultation
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin occultātiōn- (stem of occultātiō ) a hiding, equivalent to occultāt ( us ) (past participle of occultāre to conceal, keep something hidden, frequentative of occulere; see occult) + -iōn- -ion
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.
A stellar occultation occurs when an asteroid passes directly in front of a distant star, briefly blocking its light.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026
Ethan Chappel captured this image, from Cibolo, Texas, USA, of an occultation of Mars that took place on 8 December 2022.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023
This event, known as an occultation, lasted less than a minute.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 11, 2023
In 2017, a ring was discovered around another Kuiper belt object, Haumea, also from dimming during a stellar occultation.
From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2023
He went into occultation like the Twelfth Imam of the Shiites.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
