space junk

British

noun

objects such as artificial satellites, material discarded from space stations, etc that remain in space after use

"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

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.

Critical technical aspects of such operations need to be resolved, particularly harm done to GPUs by high levels of radiation and extreme temperatures as well as the danger of being hit by space junk.

From Barron's • Nov. 5, 2025

But that would require 24-hour monitoring to adjust the OCO orbit to avoid space junk — not an infrequent occurrence.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2025

Of course, a direct bodily hit isn’t the only hazard of falling space junk.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2025

In fact, though, human space exploration and industrialization has polluted the area around our planet, with the resulting debris known as space junk.

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2025

I’m space junk, hurtling as far as I can away from him.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023