meteor

[ mee-tee-er, -awr ]

See synonyms for meteor on Thesaurus.com

noun

Astronomy.
- a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere.
- a transient fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or bolide.
any person or object that moves, progresses, becomes famous, etc., with spectacular speed.

(formerly) any atmospheric phenomenon, as hail or a typhoon.
Meteor, Military. Britain's first operational jet fighter, a twin-engine aircraft that entered service in 1944.

Origin of meteor

First recorded in 1570–80; from New Latin meteōrum, from Greek metéōron “meteor, a thing in the air,” noun use of neuter of metéōros “raised in the air,” equivalent to met- met- + eōr- (variant stem of aeírein “to raise”) + -os adjective suffix

Other words from meteor

me·te·or·like, adjective

Words that may be confused with meteor

meteor , meteoric, meteorite, meteoroid

Other definitions for meteor. (2 of 2)

meteor.

abbreviation

meteorological.
meteorology.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use meteor in a sentence

Even though the Founders at first blamed meteors, they eventually made “moschetoes” as the yellow-bellied culprit.
Disease History Vs. Disease Hysteria | Kevin Bleyer | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And from them were launched the two meteors that struck our planet.
The Fire People | Ray Cummings
The first of the new meteors landed on the earth in November, 1940.
The Fire People | Ray Cummings
In addition, a substantial number of meteors is forever falling into it.
Astronomy for Amateurs | Camille Flammarion
The meteors that scarred the Heavens on that night were reckoned at 240,000.
Astronomy for Amateurs | Camille Flammarion

Then there were some tiny radar-blips, which could have indicated meteors.
The Planet Strappers | Raymond Zinke Gallun

British Dictionary definitions for meteor

meteor

/ (ˈmiːtɪə) /

noun

a very small meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere. Such objects have speeds approaching 70 kilometres per second
Also called: shooting star, falling star the bright streak of light appearing in the sky due to the incandescence of such a body heated by friction at its surface

Origin of meteor

C15: from Medieval Latin meteōrum, from Greek meteōron something aloft, from meteōros lofty, from meta- (intensifier) + aeirein to raise

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

Scientific definitions for meteor

meteor

[ mē′tē-ər ]

A bright trail or streak of light that appears in the night sky when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere. The friction with the air causes the rock to glow with heat. Also called shooting star
A rocky body that produces such light. Most meteors burn up before reaching the Earth's surface. See Note at solar system.

usage For meteor

The streaks of light we sometimes see in the night sky and call meteors were not identified as interplanetary rocks until the 19th century. Before then, the streaks of light were considered only one of a variety of atmospheric phenomena, all of which bore the name meteor. Rain was an aqueous meteor, winds and storms were airy meteors, and streaks of light in the sky were fiery meteors. This general use of meteor survives in our word meteorology, the study of the weather and atmospheric phenomena. Nowadays, astronomers use any of three words for rocks from interplanetary space, depending on their stage of descent to the Earth. A meteoroid is a rock in space that has the potential to collide with the Earth's atmosphere. Meteoroids range in size from a speck of dust to a chunk about 100 meters in diameter, though most are smaller than a pebble. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. The light that it gives off when heated by friction with the atmosphere is also called a meteor. If the rock is not obliterated by the friction and lands on the ground, it is called a meteorite. For this term, scientists borrowed the -ite suffix used in the names of minerals like malachite and pyrite.

Cultural definitions for meteor

meteor

A streak of light in the sky, often called a “shooting star,” that occurs when a bit of extraterrestrial matter falls into the atmosphere of the Earth and burns up.

Notes for meteor

Meteor showers occur at regular times during the year.

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