Orion

American  

[uh-rahy-uhn] / əˈraɪ ən /

noun

genitive

Orionis

1. Classical Mythology. a giant hunter who pursued the Pleiades, was eventually slain by Artemis, and was then placed in the sky as a constellation.

2. Astronomy. the Hunter, a constellation lying on the celestial equator between Canis Major and Taurus, containing the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

3. Military. a land-based U.S. Navy patrol plane with four turboprop engines, used to detect, track, and destroy enemy submarines and armed with missiles, torpedoes, mines, and depth bombs.

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Orion ¹ British  

/ əˈraɪən /

noun

1. a conspicuous constellation near Canis Major containing two first magnitude stars (Betelgeuse and Rigel) and a distant bright emission nebula (the Orion Nebula ) associated with a system of giant molecular clouds and star formation

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Orion ² British  

/ əˈraɪən /

noun

1. Greek myth a Boeotian giant famed as a great hunter, who figures in several tales

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Orion Scientific  

/ ō-rī′ən /

1. A constellation in the equatorial region of the celestial sphere, near Taurus and Gemini. Orion (the Hunter) contains the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

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Example Sentences

Its huge dishes form part of a private space communications network, which tracked the Orion spacecraft whenever the Moon climbed above the horizon, collecting and processing the data before sending it on to Nasa.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

The Orion capsule, though, impressed its crew profoundly.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Artemis III will launch a crew into low Earth orbit and evaluate the rendezvous and docking capabilities between the agency’s Orion spacecraft and SpaceX or Blue Origin’s landers—or both of those vehicles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

However, the Orion spacecraft experienced issues with helium valves on Orion’s propulsion system, which helps the crew navigate in space.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Orion snuggled close to his jackalope friend and let out a sympathetic whine.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova