sidereal
Americanadjective
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determined by or from the stars.
sidereal time.
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of or relating to the stars.
adjective
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of, relating to, or involving the stars
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determined with reference to one or more stars
the sidereal day
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Relating to the stars or constellations.
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Measured with respect to the background of fixed stars instead of the Sun.
Other Word Forms
- nonsidereal adjective
- sidereally adverb
- unsidereal adjective
Etymology
Origin of sidereal
1625–35; < Latin sīdere ( us ) of, belonging to the stars ( sīder-, stem of sīdus star, constellation + -eus adj. suffix) + -al 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Note: For simplicity’s sake, these are all sidereal days, and “day” refers to an Earth day.
From The Verge
It's that time of the sidereal year where we take stock of what's been going on during the last orbit of Earth around the Sun.
From Scientific American
But one puzzling signal showed up most days at the same sidereal time.
From Scientific American
Mr Beck, Rocket Lab’s wise man, has taken it upon himself to create his own sidereal epiphany.
From The Guardian
This figure is known as the "sidereal day" or "stellar day".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
