planetary

American  

[plan-i-ter-ee] / ˈplæn ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a planet or the planets.

2. wandering; erratic.

3. terrestrial; global.

4. Machinery. noting or pertaining to an epicyclic gear train in which a sun gear is linked to one or more planet gears also engaging with an encircling ring gear.

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noun

1. Machinery. a planetary gear train.

planetary British  

/ ˈplænɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to a planet

2. mundane; terrestrial

3. wandering or erratic

4. astrology under the influence of one of the planets

5. (of a gear, esp an epicyclic gear) having an axis that rotates around that of another gear

6. (of an electron) having an orbit around the nucleus of an atom

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noun

1. a train of planetary gears

Other Word Forms

• nonplanetary adjective

Etymology

Origin of planetary

From the Latin word planētārius, dating back to 1585–95. See planet, -ary

Example Sentences

A photographer has captured six planets in one picture as part of a celestial planetary parade.

From BBC

They should all be visible in the same part of the sky shortly after sunset, creating what is often called a planetary parade.

From BBC

He tracks how deeply the transformative ideas of “biological evolution, a godless universe, and planetary extinction” shaped the poet’s imagination.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Plastics are a grave, growing and underrecognized danger to human and planetary health,” said a paper published last year by the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet.

From The Wall Street Journal

He reportedly also hopes to eventually buy “a T-Rex dinosaur fossil” and the Declaration of Independence on his “planetary treasure hunt.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• global
• terrestrial