Orion

[ uh-rahy-uhn ]

noun,genitive Or·i·o·nis [awr-ee-oh-nis, or-, uh-rahy-uh-nis] /ˌɔr iˈoʊ nɪs, ˌɒr-, əˈraɪ ə nɪs/ for 2.
  1. Classical Mythology. a giant hunter who pursued the Pleiades, was eventually slain by Artemis, and was then placed in the sky as a constellation.

  2. Astronomy. the Hunter, a constellation lying on the celestial equator between Canis Major and Taurus, containing the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

  1. Military. a land-based U.S. Navy patrol plane with four turboprop engines, used to detect, track, and destroy enemy submarines and armed with missiles, torpedoes, mines, and depth bombs.

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British Dictionary definitions for Orion (1 of 2)

Orion1

/ (əˈraɪən) /


noun
  1. Greek myth a Boeotian giant famed as a great hunter, who figures in several tales

British Dictionary definitions for Orion (2 of 2)

Orion2

/ (əˈraɪən) /


nounLatin genitive Orionis (ˌɔːrɪˈəʊnɪs)
  1. a conspicuous constellation near Canis Major containing two first magnitude stars (Betelgeuse and Rigel) and a distant bright emission nebula (the Orion Nebula) associated with a system of giant molecular clouds and star formation

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 Orion

Orion

[ ō-rīən ]


  1. A constellation in the equatorial region of the celestial sphere, near Taurus and Gemini. Orion (the Hunter) contains the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.