planet
Use Planet in a sentence
ɪt noun
1.
Astronomy.
a.
Also called major planet. any of the eight large heavenly bodies revolving about the sun and shining by reflected light: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune, in the order of their proximity to the sun. Until 2006, Pluto was classified as a planet ninth in order from the sun; it has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.
b.
a similar body revolving about a star other than the sun.
c.
(formerly) a celestial body moving in the sky, as distinguished from a fixed star, applied also to the sun and moon.
2.
Astrology. the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto: considered sources of energy or consciousness in the interpretation of horoscopes.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English planete (< Old French planète) < Late Latin planēta, planētēs (found only in plural planētae) < Greek (astéres) planḗtai literally, wandering (stars)
1250–1300; Middle English planete (< Old French planète) < Late Latin planēta, planētēs (found only in plural planētae) < Greek (astéres) planḗtai literally, wandering (stars)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To planet
Collins
World English Dictionary
planet (ˈplænɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Also called: major planet any of the eight celestial bodies, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, that revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits and are illuminated by light from the sun |
| 2. | Also called: extrasolar planet any other celestial body revolving around a star, illuminated by light from that star |
| 3. | astrology See also house any of the planets of the solar system, excluding the earth but including the sun and moon, each thought to rule one or sometimes two signs of the zodiac |
| [C12: via Old French from Late Latin planēta, from Greek planētēs wanderer, from planaein to wander] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Planet
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
planet
late O.E., from O.Fr. planete (Fr. planète), from L.L. planeta, from Gk. (asteres) planetai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wander," of unknown origin. So called because they have apparent motion, unlike the "fixed" stars. Originally including also the moon and sun; modern scientific
sense of "world that orbits a star" is from 1640.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| planet (plān'ĭt) Pronunciation Key
A large celestial body, smaller than a star but larger than an asteroid, that does not produce its own light but is illuminated by light from the star around which it revolves. In our solar system there are nine known planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Because of Pluto's small size—about two-thirds the diameter of Earth's moon—and its unusual orbit, many astronomers believe it should actually be classed as a Kuiper belt object rather than a planet. A planetlike body with more than about ten times the mass of Jupiter would be considered a brown dwarf rather than a planet. See also extrasolar planet, inner planet, outer planet. planetary adjective |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
planet definition
An object in orbit around a star. A planet does not give off its own light; rather, it shines by reflecting sunlight. Planets close to the sun are rocky. Those farther out consist mostly of gases and liquids.
Note: There are nine major planets, including the Earth, in orbit around our sun, along with many asteroids. (See solar system.)
Note: Scientists have discovered evidence for the existence of many planets that circle other stars.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
Planet definition
["An Experiment in Language Design for Distributed Systems", D. Crookes et al, Soft Prac & Exp 14(10):957-971 (Oct 1984)].
Example sentences
For the first time a spacecraft orbiting a foreign planet has spied--and photographed--some of its kin.
But if an object is orbiting another, much larger object that's not a star, it wouldn't count as a planet either.
Graduate-advising disasters are the typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions of the academic planet.
Trees are some of the longest-lived organisms on the planet.
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