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

The U.A.E. was a geopolitical swing state worth bringing further into the American orbit, they argued.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

In her early twenties, she came into Epstein's orbit when she visited a Paris agency and met modelling scout Daniel Siad.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Weir and a small crew are sent on a recovery mission after the lost spaceship, the Event Horizon, suddenly reappears in orbit around Neptune, issuing a distress signal.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

AST SpaceMobile is developing a space-based cellular broadband network that relies on putting new satellites in orbit.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

This figure is an average, as the Earth’s orbit is an ellipse.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The company projects Starship will begin launching to lower-Earth orbits in the second half of this year, but it isn’t clear when the company could get its rockets to the orbits required by StormWall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

First discovered in 2013, the Pink Planet, formally known as GJ 504 b, orbits a Sun-like star about 57 light-years from Earth.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026

Donaldjohanson has remained in the asteroid belt since its formation, while Bennu and Ryugu eventually migrated into near-Earth orbits that periodically bring them close to our planet.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026

This tilt causes the amount of sunlight that reaches different regions of Earth to change throughout the year as it orbits the Sun.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

In the meantime, I was working on calculations for two different possible orbits for the first manned trip to the moon.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

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

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

Instead, huge amounts of rock and dust were passing in front of the star as they orbited the system, partially blocking the light traveling toward Earth.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 11, 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

The Sentinel-1 satellites that Peter uses orbited over Halley Bay, taking pictures of the ice sheet.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2024

Sputnik II orbited the earth 2,570 times before it burned up in the atmosphere five months later.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Researchers have found the first atmosphere surrounding an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of a distant star.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

This motion occurs when a star moves slightly toward and away from Earth as an unseen, massive object pulls on it while orbiting.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

This describes a phenomenon where a star wobbles back and forth, indicating a massive companion object is orbiting.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Though Musk’s visions of giant rocket ships, orbiting AI data centers and Martian cities remain mostly aspirational, SpaceX is now the sixth most valuable U.S.-listed company with a market cap over $2.5 trillion.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

Countless hundreds of birds, orbiting the village green once, elasticking longer, twice, winging shorter, three times, then, as if following an order, vanishing inside the tree again.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Related Words

• path
• pattern
• rotation
• trajectory