me·te·or (m  t- r, -ôr )n. A bright trail or streak that appears in the sky when a meteoroid is heated to incandescence by friction with the earth's atmosphere. Also called falling star, meteor burst, shooting star. [Middle English metheour, atmospheric phenomenon, from Old French meteore, from Medieval Latin mete  rum, from Greek meteron, astronomical phenomenon, from neuter of meteros, high in the air : meta-, meta- + - oros, lifted; akin to eirein, to lift up; see wer-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
meteor [ˈmiːtɪə]
n
1. (Astronomy) a very small meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere. Such objects have speeds approaching 70 kilometres per second
2. (Astronomy) 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
[from Medieval Latin meteōrum, from Greek meteōron something aloft, from meteōros lofty, from meta- (intensifier) + aeirein to raise]
| meteor (mt-r) 1. 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. 2. A rocky body that produces such light. Most meteors burn up before reaching the Earth's surface. See Note at solar system. Usage 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. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | meteor - (astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere astronomy, uranology - the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole estraterrestrial body, extraterrestrial object - a natural object existing outside the earth and outside the earth's atmosphere meteorite - stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface meteor swarm - a group of meteoroids with similar paths |
| 2. |  meteor - a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth's atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explodelight, visible light, visible radiation - (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation; "the light was filtered through a soft glass window" meteor shower, meteor stream - a transient shower of meteors when a meteor swarm enters the earth's atmosphere |
meteor noun
Related words
fear meteorophobia
fear meteorophobia
meteor
noun falling star, comet, meteorite, fireball, shooting star, bolide It takes place in the future after a meteor has landed.
Translations
meteor
n → Meteor m
n meteor [ˈmiːtiə]
(alsoshooting star) a small mass or body travelling very quickly through space which appears very bright after entering the earth's atmosphere. meteoor نَيْزَك، شِهاب метеор meteor meteor der Meteor διάττων αστέρας meteorito meteoor شهاب سنگ meteori météore מֶטֶאוֹר उल्का meteor meteor meteor stjörnuhrap, loftsteinn meteora 流星 유성체; 운석(隕石) meteoras meteors meteor meteoor meteor, stjerneskudd meteor meteoro meteor метеор meteor meteor meteor meteor ดาวตก göktaşı, meteor 流星 метеор شہاب ثاقب sao băng 流星
adj meteˈoric [-ˈo-]
(of success etc) rapid and often only lasting for a short time a meteoric rise to fame. meteories, snelle نَيْزَكي، شِهابي стремглав meteoritský meteorisk meteorhaft μετεωρικός, λαμπρός κι εφήμερος meteórico tähelennuline درخشان و زودگذر tähdenlennon kaltainen fulgurant מְסַחרֵר वायु-मंडल का, वायु-मंडलीय परिस्थियों पर निर्भर, टूटे सितारों सेबंधी, उल्का के समान, चमकीला, चकाचौंधपूर्ण, तीव्रगामी, तेज़ meteorski meteorikus sebentar leiftur- rapidissimo 流星のような 급속한, 일시적인 staigus ir trumpas žilbinošs; straujš un īslaicīgs begitu cepat bliksemsnel lyn(karriere), kometaktig meteoryczny meteórico meteoric мгновенный meteorický bliskovit meteorski meteorlik, meteor-, komet- ซึ่งประสบความสำเร็จรวดเร็วมาก baş döndürücü hızla 流星的 сліпучий; блиснувший, як метеор فضائے سماوی سے متعلق thuộc sao băng 流星的
n meteorite [-rait]
a small meteor that has fallen to earth. klein meteoriet حَجَر نَيْزَكي метеорит meteorit meteorit der Meteorit μετεωρίτης meteorito meteoriit سنگ آسمانی meteoriitti météorite מֶטֶאוֹר टूटा हुआ तारा meteorit meteorkő meteor kecil yang jatuh ke bumi (lítill) loftsteinn meteorite 隕石 운석 meteoritas meteorīts meteor kecil yang jatuh ke bumi meteoriet meteoritt, meteorstein meteoryt meteorito meteorit метеорит meteorit meteorit meteor meteorit อุกกาบาต yeryüzüne düşmüş küçük göktaşı 隕石 метеорит شہاب ثاقب کا ٹکڑا thiên thạch 陨石
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