meteor









meteor


noun

  1. Astronomy.
    1. a meteoroid that has entered the earth’s atmosphere.
    2. a transient fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth’s atmosphere; a shooting star or bolide.
  2. any person or object that moves, progresses, becomes famous, etc., with spectacular speed.
  3. (formerly) any atmospheric phenomenon, as hail or a typhoon.
  4. (initial capital letter) Military. Britain’s first operational jet fighter, a twin-engine aircraft that entered service in 1944.

  1. meteorological.
  2. meteorology.

noun

  1. a very small meteoroid that has entered the earth’s atmosphere. Such objects have speeds approaching 70 kilometres per second
  2. 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

n.late 15c., “any atmospheric phenomenon,” from Middle French meteore (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin meteorum (nominative meteora), from Greek ta meteora “the celestial phenomena, things in heaven above,” plural of meteoron, literally “thing high up,” noun use of neuter of meteoros (adj.) “high up, raised from the ground, hanging,” from meta- “over, beyond” (see meta-) + -aoros “lifted, hovering in air,” related to aeirein “to raise” (see aorta). Specific sense of “fireball, shooting star” is attested from 1590s. Atmospheric phenomena were formerly classified as aerial meteors (wind), aqueous meteors (rain, snow, hail), luminous meteors (aurora, rainbows), and igneous meteors (lightning, shooting stars).

  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.

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.

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