suborbital

[ suhb-awr-bi-tl ]

adjective

1. (of a spacecraft) not in orbit; not achieving an altitude and velocity resulting in a ballistic trajectory circling the earth at least once.
2. Anatomy. situated below the orbit of the eye.

suborbital

/ sʌbˈɔːbɪtəl /

adjective

1. (of a rocket, missile, etc) having a flight path that is less than one complete orbit of the earth or other celestial body
2. anatomy situated beneath the orbit of the eye

Word History and Origins

Origin of suborbital¹

First recorded in 1815–25; sub- + orbital

Example Sentences

While the rocket launch sector is quickly becoming crowded, the same can’t be said for companies developing suborbital spaceplanes.

From TechCrunch

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flight and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin launch made headlines with their short suborbital jaunts, while the upcoming Inspiration4 mission plans to put an all-civilian crew into orbit for the first time.

From Time

Aside from the recent up-and-down suborbital hops by billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos and their entourages, a host of civilians have flown on space flights before.

From Time

Both flights were what is deemed “suborbital,” reaching only the edge of space, but achieved zero-gravity — Bezos was seen on video floating Skittles into the mouths of his fellow passengers.

From Washington Post

The most important news in space business aren’t Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos’ suborbital joy rides.

From Quartz

In Polypterus there is a subopercle also; the suborbital chain is represented by two small bones.

From Project Gutenberg

Suborbital, sub-or′bi-tal, adj. situated below the orbit of the eye.

From Project Gutenberg

The dorsal and ventral boundaries of the orbits are respectively formed by the prominent supra-orbital and suborbital ridges.

From Project Gutenberg

In females the dorsum is dull olive-brown; the anterior part of the head is tan, and the suborbital spot is yellowish tan.

From Project Gutenberg

The suborbital spot is pale greenish tan, and the iris is deep reddish brown.

From Project Gutenberg