orbit

The word “orbit” means the curved path an object follows as it travels around another body due to gravity, such as a planet around the sun. In plain terms, the path something takes as it circles around another object — or, figuratively, someone's sphere of influence.

“Orbit” is pronounced AW-biht (/ˈɔɹ.bɪt/ in IPA).

Here is “orbit” used in a sentence: “The satellite was launched into orbit around the Earth.”

The opposite of “orbit” — its antonyms — is deorbit.

Depending on how it is used, “orbit” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “orbit” comes from Latin. From Latin orbita, "track, course," related to orbis, "circle.".

“Orbit” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Orbit” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the curved path an object follows as it travels around another body due to gravity, such as a planet around the sun.

A body rotates when it spins on its own axis, and it orbits when it follows a curved path around another body under gravity. Earth rotates once roughly every 24 hours, and it orbits the sun once a year.

An orbit is the curved path an object follows around another body because of gravity. An orbiting object keeps moving forward so fast that, as gravity continually pulls it inward, its path bends into a curve around the body instead of dropping straight down.

Orbit is the noun for the curved path itself and a verb meaning to travel around something. Orbital is mainly the adjective, as in orbital speed; in chemistry it is also a noun for the region around a nucleus where an electron is most likely to be found.