planetary

[ plan-i-ter-ee ]

/ ˈplæn ɪˌtɛr i /

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See synonyms for planetary on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

wandering; erratic.

terrestrial; global.

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.

noun

Machinery. a planetary gear train.

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Origin of planetary

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

OTHER WORDS FROM planetary

non·plan·e·tar·y, adjective

Words nearby planetary

plane surveying, planet, plane table, planetarian, planetarium, planetary, planetary nebula, planetary precession, planetesimal, planetesimal hypothesis, planet gear

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use planetary in a sentence

If your main concern is planetary health, plant-based foods are the better choice.
Is Fast Food Healthier When It's Plant-Based?|Christine Byrne|February 3, 2021|Outside Online
Certain destinations like the moon and Mars have always been at the forefront of planetary scientists’ minds, especially as we’ve learned more about the history of water on both bodies.
We’re living in a golden age of sample return missions|Neel Patel|February 2, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Careful crater counting suggests it could be as old as 1 million years, or as youthful as 53,000 years — yesterday, in planetary terms.
Rumbles on Mars Raise Hopes of Underground Magma Flows|Robin George Andrews|February 1, 2021|Quanta Magazine
Two hundred light years away sits a planetary system unlike any other yet discovered.
These 6 exoplanets somehow orbit their star in perfect rhythm|Charlie Wood|January 27, 2021|Popular-Science

The drive for infinite economic growth is leading to a planetary ecological crisis.
Big Tech’s attention economy can be reformed. Here’s how.|Gideon Lichfield|January 10, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Some of those plans for planetary defense sound like they were ripped right out of a Michael Bay movie.
U.S.—Russia Tensions Nuke Plans For Real-Life ‘Armageddon’ Asteroid Defense|Asawin Suebsaeng|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The leading neocons competed with each other to come up with the most grandiose vision of Middle East and planetary restructuring.
Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick On How Obama Should Handle the Crisis In Syria|Oliver Stone, Peter Kuznick|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Higher incomes lead to greater demand on planetary resources and more interdependence.
Big Idea: The Time for Divided Nations Is Over|Ian Goldin|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“The Martian Chroniclers”Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker A new era in planetary exploration.
The Week’s Best Longreads for April 20, 2013|David Sessions|April 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Pic: Michael Benson's planetary art hovers between sci-fi and astronomy.
Isaac Asimov or Carl Sagan?|Blake Gopnik|February 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Being only halfway in control of his own planetary system was no state to be found in by the first interstellar visitors.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
Still, it will be healthier if we push out of this planetary system before someone else pushes in.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
In the stages of concentration the planetary nebulæ might well repeat those through which the greater solar mass proceeded.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
In an orbit made elliptical by the planetary attraction the sun necessarily occupies one of the foci of the ellipse.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
The conditions under which this vivifying tide is received have their origin in the planetary motion.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for planetary

planetary

/ (ˈplænɪtərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of or relating to a planet

mundane; terrestrial

wandering or erratic

astrology under the influence of one of the planets

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

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

noun plural -taries

a train of planetary gears

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

planetary

Origin of planetary

OTHER WORDS FROM planetary

Words nearby planetary

Words related to planetary

How to use planetary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for planetary