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
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
me•te•or /ˈmitiɚ, -ˌɔr/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Astronomy
- a meteoroid that has entered the earth's atmosphere.
- a short-lasting, fiery streak in the sky produced by a meteoroid passing through the earth's atmosphere.
me•te•or
(mē′tē ər, -ôr′),USA pronunciation n.
me′te•or•like′, adj.
meteor.,
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- 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.
- Military(cap.) Britain's first operational jet fighter, a twin-engine aircraft that entered service in 1944.
- Greek metéōron meteor, a thing in the air, noun, nominal use of neuter of metéōros raised in the air, equivalent. to met- met- + eōr- (variant stem of aéirein to raise) + -os adjective, adjectival suffix
- Neo-Latin meteōrum
- 1570–80
meteor.,
- meteorological.
- meteorology.
meteorol.,
- Meteorologymeteorological.
- Meteorologymeteorology.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
meteorological meteorology