orbital

[awr-bi-tl]

adjective

1. of or relating to an orbit.

noun

1. Physics, Chemistry.

   1. a wave function describing the state of a single electron in an atom atomic orbital or in a molecule molecular orbital.

   2. the electron in that state.

orbital

/ ˈɔːbɪtəl /

adjective

1. of or denoting an orbit

2. (of a motorway or major road circuit) circling a large city

noun

1. a region surrounding an atomic nucleus in which the probability distribution of the electrons is given by a wave function

2. an orbital road

Other Word Forms

• interorbital adjective
• interorbitally adverb
• preorbital adjective
• superorbital adjective
• transorbital adjective
• unorbital adjective
• unorbitally adverb
• orbitally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of orbital¹

1535–45; < New Latin, Medieval Latin orbitālis; orbit, -al ¹

Example Sentences

Blue Origin took crucial steps toward its space-development goals on Thursday, launching its orbital rocket for the first time with cargo and landing the rocket’s booster.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

If you want something to worry about late at night besides your mortgage, pick orbital debris.

Read more on MarketWatch

To improve forecasts, researchers must follow how solar material and magnetic structures evolve across the Sun and through space, not just from the limited perspective of Earth's orbital plane.

Read more on Science Daily

Image: The picture shows an artist's recreation of the orbital paths of both brown dwarf stars, in blue, and of the unusually orbiting planet, in orange.

Read more on Space Scoop

Skyrora says Skylark L has the potential to be used for microgravity experiments at a lower cost than an orbital vehicle.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• annual 
• intermittent 
• monthly 
• occasional 
• recurrent 
• recurring 
• regular 
• repeated 
• routine 
• seasonal 
• sporadic 
• weekly 
• yearly