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pericenter

American  
[per-uh-sen-ter] / ˈpɛr əˌsɛn tər /

noun

Astronomy.

  1. the point at which a heavenly body orbiting around a primary other than the earth or sun is closest to the primary.

Other Word Forms

  • pericentral adjective
  • pericentric adjective

Etymology

Origin of pericenter

First recorded in 1900–05; peri- + center

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.