suborbital

adjective

sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bə-tᵊl How to pronounce suborbital (audio)
1
: situated beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye
2
: being or involving less than one orbit (as of the earth or moon)
also : intended for suborbital flight

Examples of suborbital in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The other three have been conducted by HASTE, a suborbital variant of Electron that allows customers to test technologies in a hypersonic flight environment. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026 The federal government already owns a third spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, used for suborbital rocket tests and small- and medium-class satellite launches. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026 One of the Starship upper stage's six Raptor engines shut down early during the climb to an initially suborbital trajectory. — William Harwood, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026 Six trips around Earth All 13 previous Starship flights since 2023 were suborbital. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for suborbital

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of suborbital was in 1803

Rhymes for suborbital

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Browse Nearby Words

suborbicular
suborbital
suborder
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Cite this Entry

“Suborbital.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suborbital. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Medical Definition

suborbital

adjective
sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bət-ᵊl How to pronounce suborbital (audio)
: situated or occurring beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye
suborbital fat
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