satellite

American  

[sat-l-ahyt] / ˈsæt lˌaɪt /

noun

• satellites
  plural

1. 

   Astronomy. a natural body that revolves around a planet; a moon.

2. a country under the domination or influence of another.

3. something, as a branch office or an off-campus facility of a university, that depends on, accompanies, or serves something else.

4. an attendant or follower of another person, often subservient or obsequious in manner.

   Synonyms:

   flunky, toady, sycophant, parasite, lackey, associate, companion, supporter, follower

5. a device designed to be launched into orbit around the earth, another planet, the sun, etc.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting a satellite.

   the nation's new satellite program.

2. using an earth-orbiting satellite to transmit communications signals; transmitted or broadcast by satellite.

   satellite radio and TV.

3. subordinate to another authority, outside power, or the like.

   summoned to a conference of satellite nations.

satellite British  

/ ˈsætəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a celestial body orbiting around a planet or star

   the earth is a satellite of the sun

2. Also called: artificial satellite. a man-made device orbiting around the earth, moon, or another planet transmitting to earth scientific information or used for communication See also communications satellite

3. a person, esp one who is obsequious, who follows or serves another

4. a country or political unit under the domination of a foreign power

5. a subordinate area or community that is dependent upon a larger adjacent town or city

6. (modifier) subordinate to or dependent upon another

   a satellite nation

7. (modifier) of, used in, or relating to the transmission of television signals from a satellite to the house

   a satellite dish aerial

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verb

1. (tr) to transmit by communications satellite

satellite Scientific  

/ săt′l-īt′ /

1. A small body in orbit around a larger body.

2. See Note at moon

3. An object launched to orbit Earth or another celestial body. Satellites are used for research, communications, weather information, and navigation. The first artificial Earth satellite was Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union in October 1957; the first successful American satellite was launched in January 1958.

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satellite ¹ Cultural  

1. In astronomy, an object, whether natural (such as the moon) or artificial (such as a weather observation satellite), that revolves around a central body. (See under “World Politics.”)

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satellite ² Cultural  

1. Any object in orbit about some body capable of exerting a gravitational (see gravitation) force. Artificial satellites in orbit around the Earth have many uses, including relaying communication signals, making accurate surveys and inventories of the Earth's surface and weather patterns, and carrying out scientific experiments.

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satellite ³ Cultural  

1. In politics, a nation that is dominated politically by another. The Warsaw Pact nations, other than the former Soviet Union itself, were commonly called satellites of the Soviet Union.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• satellited
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• satellites
  plural

Etymology

Origin of satellite

1540–50; 1955–60 satellite for def. 2; < Latin satellit- (stem of satelles ) attendant, member of bodyguard or retinue

Explanation

A satellite is something small or less powerful that orbits around something bigger. It often describes a body in space, such as an artificial satellite that orbits the Earth and beams down signals that power devices like cell phones. The word satellite was first used to describe a follower of someone in a superior position. The word's meaning later broadened to describe anything small that's dependent on something larger. The small satellite circles around the more powerful force, like a moon orbiting a planet. Satellite can describe a small country — a satellite country — controlled by a larger one, or a large organization that has a small office — a satellite office — in another location.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

satellite satellites

Excluding traditional satellite television broadcasting, it employed 2,811 people, an increase of 81% over the same period.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

“They also attempted to put on a satellite tracking tag, but similarly, conditions hampered their efforts.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

He argues Glasgow's small satellite industry originally grew partly because of a lack of government support, as part of the commercially-focused "newspace" revolution.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Then came the elegant inversion: If a point on Earth could locate a satellite in the sky, then a satellite in the sky could locate a point on Earth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

We couldn’t get a three-pound satellite off the ground.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Two decades later, Glasgow is a European leader in building small satellites.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Musk has said Terafab will be a one-of-a-kind facility that can make memory chips, logic chips and packaging used across his companies, such as for humanoid robots, satellites and data centers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The data collected by satellites of all kinds is increasingly woven into everyday life.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

In fact, GPS also overcomes the challenge through time: A receiver uses the travel times of signals from several satellites, whose positions are known, to calculate its own position.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

With more instruments and better instruments, with strengthened partnerships, and with new technology from software to satellites, the story of Mount St. Helens erupting right now would be very different than in 1980.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone