Saturn

American  

[sat-ern] / ˈsæt ərn /

noun

1. an ancient Roman god of agriculture, the consort of Ops, believed to have ruled the earth during an age of happiness and virtue, identified with the Greek god Cronus.

2. Astronomy. the planet sixth in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 74,600 miles (120,000 kilometers), a mean distance from the sun of 886.7 million miles (1427 million kilometers), a period of revolution of 29.46 years, and over 250 known moons. It is the second largest planet in the solar system, encompassed by a series of thin, flat rings composed of small particles of ice.

3. Alchemy. the metal lead.

4. a U.S. space-vehicle booster developing 2 million to 9 million pounds of thrust (about 8.9 million to 40 million newtons) for launching satellites, probes, and spaceships.

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Saturn ¹ British  

/ ˈsætɜːn /

noun

1. one of the giant planets , the sixth planet from the sun, around which revolve planar concentric rings ( Saturn's rings ) consisting of small frozen particles. The planet has 62 satellites. Mean distance from sun: 1425 million km; period of revolution around sun: 29.41 years; period of axial rotation: 10.23 hours; equatorial diameter and mass: 9.26 and 95.3 times that of the earth, respectively See also Titan 2

2. a large US rocket used for launching various objects, such as a spaceprobe or an Apollo spacecraft, into space

3. the alchemical name for lead 2

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Saturn ² British  

/ ˈsætɜːn /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Cronus.  the Roman god of agriculture and vegetation

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Saturn Scientific  

/ săt′ərn /

1. The sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest, with a diameter about ten times that of Earth. Saturn is a gas giant that is almost as large as Jupiter in diameter but with only about 30 percent of Jupiter's mass. Its mainly gaseous composition together with its rapid axial rotation (it rotates once every 10.7 hours) cause a noticeable flattening at the poles and a prominent equatorial bulge. Saturn is encircled by a large, flat system of rings made up of rock fragments and tiny ice crystals, first observed by Galileo in 1610. The rings are believed to be unstable and therefore likely of recent origin; they may have been formed from bodies such as asteroids or moons that were shattered as they approached closer than the Roche limit. Saturn has numerous moons, of which the largest is Titan, the second largest moon in the solar system after Jupiter's Ganymede and larger than both Mercury and Pluto.

2. See Table at solar system

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Saturn ¹ Cultural  

1. The Roman name for one of the Titans, the father of Zeus. In Roman mythology, Saturn fled from Mount Olympus after Zeus defeated the Titans. He settled in Italy and established a golden age, in which all people were equal and harvests were plentiful.

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Saturn ² Cultural  

1. In astronomy, the second-largest major planet, sixth from the sun. Saturn was named for the Roman god of agriculture. Like Jupiter, Saturn is composed largely of gas es and liquids. Saturn is the most distant planet plainly visible to the naked eye. (See solar system; see under “Mythology and Folklore.”)

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Discover More

The sixth planet from the sun (the Earth is third) is named Saturn.

Saturday (“Saturn's day”) is named after Saturn.

Saturn, often called the most beautiful planet, is known for the rings that encircle it.

Example Sentences

"We will love him forever, to Saturn and beyond."

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

The Apollo program relied on a single rocket, the Saturn V, which carried both the lunar lander and the capsule carrying the astronauts.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

The Saturn V rocket generated an enormous amount of thrust when launching, using five roughly 18-foot-tall engines.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Just after sunset, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Neptune will appear low in the western sky, close to the horizon.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

Alternatively, they may be the steady state equilibrium between material ejected from a moon of Saturn, such as Titan, and material falling into the atmosphere of the planet.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• earth