perigee
Americannoun
noun
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The point nearest Earth's center in the orbit of the Moon or an artificial satellite.
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The point in an orbit that is nearest to the body being orbited.
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Compare apogee perihelion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perigee
First recorded in 1585–95; from French perigée, from New Latin perigēum, perigaeum, from Greek perígeion (sēmeîon) “perigee,” literally “boundary, limit (surrounding the earth),” equivalent to neuter of perígeios “surrounding the earth,” ( peri- peri- + -geios, adjective derivative of gaîa, gê “the earth”)
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Explanation
The perigee is the point in the orbit of an object circling the Earth when that object is closest to the Earth. The best time to observe the moon is when the moon reaches its perigee. The Greek ancestor of the word perigee was originally used by Ptolemy, a Roman scientist and astrologer who lived almost 2,000 years ago. The opposite of perigee is apogee. A perigee is measured from the center of the earth to the center of the orbiting object. When the moon is at its perigee, it can appear up to 14 percent larger than when it is at its apogee, but you probably can't tell the difference with the naked eye.
Vocabulary lists containing perigee
Over The Moon: Planetary Vocabulary
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Spinnin' Around
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This Week in Words: January 27 - February 2, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At its closest point - or perigee - the Moon is about 220,000 miles away from Earth, whereas at its furthest point - or apogee - it is around 250,000 miles away.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2025
And when the full Moon - which occurs roughly every 29.5 days - coincides with the Moon's perigee, it appears bigger and brighter than usual and so we call it a supermoon.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2024
The Moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical which means there are times when it is further away - apogee - and times when it is closer - perigee.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2024
When the new or full moon coincides with or is close to perigee, usually six to eight times a year, the result is a perigean spring tide, or what is popularly called a king tide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
We walked through the rock garden where we sat together on the night of the perigee moon, and out into the canyon bed as the sun peeked over the rim.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
