planet

[plan-it]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR planet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Astronomy.

Also called major planet.any of the eight large heavenly bodies revolving about the sun and shining by reflected light: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune, in the order of their proximity to the sun. Until 2006, Pluto was classified as a planet ninth in order from the sun; it has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.
a similar body revolving about a star other than the sun.
(formerly) a celestial body moving in the sky, as distinguished from a fixed star, applied also to the sun and moon.

Astrology. the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto: considered sources of energy or consciousness in the interpretation of horoscopes.

Origin of planet

1250–1300; Middle English planete (< Old French planète) < Late Latin planēta, planētēs (found only in plural planētae) < Greek (astéres) planḗtai literally, wandering (stars)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for planet

sphere, earth, globe, world, asteroid, marble, orb, apple, planetoid, terrene

Examples from the Web for planet

Contemporary Examples of planet

Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Do you want to be on the wrong side of history, Academy?
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’
Marlow Stern
January 6, 2015
In fact, Mexico buys and sells more US goods than any other country on the planet except for Canada.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
January 6, 2015
Good for her—but what a shameful indictment of Planet Fashion.
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem
Danielle Belton
January 2, 2015
With Batman and Planet of the Apes, you seem to be operating around 15 years ahead of the culture.
Tim Burton Talks ‘Big Eyes,’ His Taste For the Macabre, and the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel
Marlow Stern
December 17, 2014
Why was a master photographer recruited to work with one of the most successful liquor brands on the planet?
The Restaurant, Flask, And Photography Worthy of The Macallan Whisky
December 16, 2014

Historical Examples of planet

That, at least, is a legitimate inference to draw from the history of life on this planet.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
I didn't mean the revolutions on a planet, but the revolutions of a planet.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 14, 1870
Various
Above his head are the three symbols of the Moon, the Sun, and the planet Venus.
The Babylonian Legends of the Creation
British Museum
The sun does not shine the less because one side of our planet is in darkness.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
The real rustic does think London the finest place on the planet.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for planet

planet

noun

Also called: major planet any of the eight celestial bodies, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, that revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits and are illuminated by light from the sun

Also called: extrasolar planet any other celestial body revolving around a star, illuminated by light from that star

astrology any of the planets of the solar system, excluding the earth but including the sun and moon, each thought to rule one or sometimes two signs of the zodiacSee also house (def. 9)

Word Origin for planet

C12: via Old French from Late Latin planēta, from Greek planētēs wanderer, from planaein to wander

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for planet

late Old English planete, from Old French planete (Modern French planète), from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planetes, from (asteres) planetai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wander," of unknown origin, possibly from PIE *pele- (2) "flat, to spread" on notion of "spread out." So called because they have apparent motion, unlike the "fixed" stars. Originally including also the moon and sun; modern scientific sense of "world that orbits a star" is from 1630s.

planet in Science

planet

[plăn′ĭt]

In the traditional model of solar systems, a celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the Sun, around which it revolves.

A celestial body that orbits the Sun, has sufficient mass to assume nearly a round shape, clears out dust and debris from the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite of another planet. The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto was considered to be a planet until its reclassification in 2006 as a dwarf planet. A planetlike body with more than about ten times the mass of Jupiter would be considered a brown dwarf rather than a planet. See also extrasolar planet inner planet outer planet.

Related formsplanetary adjective

planet in Culture

planet

An object in orbit around a star. A planet does not give off its own light; rather, it shines by reflecting sunlight. Planets close to the sun are rocky. Those farther out consist mostly of gases and liquids.

Note

There are nine major planets, including the Earth, in orbit around our sun, along with many asteroids. (See solar system.)

Note

Scientists have discovered evidence for the existence of many planets that circle other stars.