orbit

American  

[awr-bit] / ˈɔr bɪt /

noun

• orbits
  plural

1. the curved path, usually elliptical, taken by a planet, satellite, spaceship, etc., around a celestial body, as the sun.

2. the usual course of one's life or range of one's activities.

3. the sphere of power or influence, as of a nation or person.

   a small nation in the Russian orbit.

4. Physics. (in theBohr model ) the path traced by an electron revolving around the nucleus of an atom.

5. an orb or sphere.

6. Anatomy.

   1. the bony cavity of the skull that contains the eye; eye socket.

   2. the eye.

7. Zoology. the part surrounding the eye of a bird or insect.

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verb (used with object)

• orbits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• orbited,
  past participle,  past
• orbiting
  present participle

1. to move or travel around in an orbital or elliptical path.

   The earth orbits the sun once every 365.25 days.

2. to send into orbit, as a satellite.

verb (used without object)

• orbits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• orbited,
  past participle,  past
• orbiting
  present participle

1. to go or travel in an orbit.

orbit British  

/ ˈɔːbɪt /

noun

1. astronomy the curved path, usually elliptical, followed by a planet, satellite, comet, etc, in its motion around another celestial body under the influence of gravitation

2. a range or field of action or influence; sphere

   he is out of my orbit

3. Nontechnical name: eye socket. anatomy the bony cavity containing the eyeball

4. zoology

   1. the skin surrounding the eye of a bird

   2. the hollow in which lies the eye or eyestalk of an insect or other arthropod

5. physics the path of an electron in its motion around the nucleus of an atom

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verb

1. to move around (a body) in a curved path, usually circular or elliptical

2. (tr) to send (a satellite, spacecraft, etc) into orbit

3. (intr) to move in or as if in an orbit

orbit Scientific  

/ ôr′bĭt /

1. The path followed by a celestial body or artificial satellite as it revolves around another body due to the force of gravity. Orbits are nearly elliptical or circular in shape and are very closely approximated by Kepler's laws of planetary motion.

2. One complete revolution of such a body.

3. See Note at solar system

4. A stable quantum state of an electron (or other particle) in motion around an atomic nucleus.

5. See more at orbital

6. Either of two bony hollows in the skull containing the eye and its associated structures.

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1. To move in an orbit around another body.

2. To put into an orbit, as a satellite is put into orbit around the Earth.

orbit Cultural  

1. In astronomy, the path followed by an object revolving around another object, under the influence of gravitation (see satellite). In physics, the path followed by an electron within an atom. The planets follow elliptical orbits around the sun (see ellipse).

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orbit Idioms  

1. see in orbit.

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Discover More

Informally, something is “in orbit” when its actions are controlled by an external agency or force: “The countries of eastern Europe were once in the orbit of the Soviet Union.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonorbiting
  adjective
• orbitary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• orbits
  plural

Participles

• orbiting
  present
• orbited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• orbit
  simple
• orbits
  simple
• have orbited
  perfect
• has orbited
  perfect
• am orbiting
  progressive
• are orbiting
  progressive
• is orbiting
  progressive
• have been orbiting
  perfect progressive
• has been orbiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• orbited
  simple
• had orbited
  perfect
• was orbiting
  progressive
• were orbiting
  progressive
• had been orbiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will orbit
  simple
• will have orbited
  perfect
• will be orbiting
  progressive
• will have been orbiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of orbit

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin orbita wheel track, course, circuit

Explanation

To orbit is to follow a circular or elliptical path around a central body. Usually a planet, moon or satellite is described as orbiting, but a child who has too much sugar can sometimes orbit around his parents in an annoying fashion. Orbit comes from the Latin orbita, “course,” or “track.” The verb orbit is the act of revolving around another object, usually on a circular or elliptical course. Many planets, moons, stars, meteors spacecraft and other objects in outer space orbit around each other. Electrons also orbit around the nucleus of an atom. The noun orbit is the path the object in orbit takes: "The Earth’s orbit around the Sun takes one year to complete."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orbit orbits orbited orbiting

Starlink, owned by Musk's SpaceX, uses satellites in low Earth orbit to provide internet access, particularly in remote areas where mobile networks and broadband cables are difficult or expensive to install.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Continuously inhabited for the last quarter-century, the aging ISS is scheduled to be pushed out of orbit before crashing into one of Earth's oceans sometime around 2030.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

These systems contain exceptionally large amounts of warm dust close to their stars, roughly in the same region where rocky planets orbit in our own solar system.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

She had also begun feeding advice through people in El-Sayed’s orbit about how he talked to Black voters.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

He didn’t orbit earth—he sped 116 miles up, reached space, and arced back through the atmosphere.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

“Everything orbits around Shohei in the sense of his talent,” Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Now in its initial orbital mission, Starship is expected to fly at an altitude about 275 kilometers above Earth and complete as many as six orbits around the planet over the course of several hours.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Elias 2-24 b is roughly as massive as Jupiter and orbits a star about 450 light-years from Earth.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

Starship is set to fly at an altitude of about 275 kilometers above Earth and complete six orbits around the planet.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Gone are the days of heavy chemical fuel burns and trans-Mars injection orbits.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

RXJ0528+2838 is a white dwarf, the leftover core of a dying low-mass star, and it is orbited by a Sun-like companion.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

Yet it was still an undoubted factor considering the team had orbited around Isak, who scored 27 goals in the previous season.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

Back in 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the Moon 10 times without landing.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

Among the many faulty narratives that orbited out of the government, one asked us to consider the mental anguish suffered by these dispatched officers.

From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2026

He orbited the chariot, gliding smoothly over the buffeting winds, spear raised.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

The job of the orbiting receivers now was to determine in a split second which of Aurich’s variations would work in that particular scenario.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The coronagraph is designed to demonstrate advanced technologies that suppress the brilliant light from stars so scientists can study much fainter planets and dusty disks orbiting nearby stars.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

The plan calls for the rocket to finish its journey in the Pacific Ocean after orbiting the Earth six times.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink declared this week that the United States has weapons orbiting in outer space.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

They are asking if I have been able to contact the orbiting satellite.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Related Words

• path
• pattern
• rotation
• trajectory