suborbital
Americanadjective
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(of a spacecraft) not in orbit; not achieving an altitude and velocity resulting in a ballistic trajectory circling the earth at least once.
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Anatomy. situated below the orbit of the eye.
adjective
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(of a rocket, missile, etc) having a flight path that is less than one complete orbit of the earth or other celestial body
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anatomy situated beneath the orbit of the eye
Etymology
Origin of suborbital
Explanation
A suborbital flight is one that goes into space but doesn't travel fast enough to stay there and go all the way around the earth. In an orbital flight, a spacecraft reaches a velocity high enough to orbit Earth, essentially "falling" continuously around the planet. Suborbital flights instead fall back to the earth's surface after briefly reaching space. This adjective is also a medical term that means "beneath the orbit of the eye." The Latin roots of suborbital are sub-, "under," and orbita, "path or track."
Vocabulary lists containing suborbital
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.
Late last month, the company received a $266 million contract for up to 18 suborbital launches for the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
During its suborbital cruise phase, Starship successfully released its payload of 20 mock Starlink satellites, along with two satellites that scanned its heat shield and sent data back to the ground during the its descent.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
The test mission is meant to last approximately 65 minutes after liftoff, as the upper stage cruises on a suborbital trajectory and eventually splashes down in the Indian Ocean, if all goes to plan.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
And in 2024, Dwight finally made it to space aboard a suborbital space tourism flight operated by Blue Origin, the private space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026
MR-4, Virgil “Gus” Grissoms July 1961 suborbital flight, came and went in a flash.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
