orbits 1 of 2

noun

plural of orbit
as in loops

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orbits

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of orbit
as in circles
to travel completely around the moon orbits the Earth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of orbits
Noun
The kick stage will be able to take big payloads from LEO to higher-energy orbits — for example, up to 8,800 pounds (4,000 kg) to geostationary orbit, a popular hangout for spy, communications and weather satellites that lies 22,236 miles (35,785 kilometers) above Earth. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 2 June 2026 Canadian and American researchers simulated satellite orbits in low Earth orbit and generated a metric, the CRASH Clock, that measures the number of days before collisions start happening if collision-avoidance maneuvers stop. — IEEE Spectrum, 21 Jan. 2026 The plan represents a departure for Europe’s top satellite makers, which have traditionally focused on large, complex spacecraft in high orbits, but the industry has been disrupted by Starlink’s small, relatively cheap, low-orbit machines. — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
Phobos, about 20 to 30 kilometers (10 to 20 miles) in diameter, orbits Mars at a distance of about 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) three times a day. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 Viewed from a distance, the steady feeding process would proceed like a triangle as the victim brown dwarf orbits the star that is eating it. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The new definition of a planet, according to Nat Geo, is an object that orbits the Sun, is large enough to have become round (due to the force of its own gravity) and dominates the neighborhood around its orbit. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026 The Perseids, like all meteors, are offshoots from comets, specifically the Swift-Tuttle Comet which orbits the Sun every 133 years. — Vince Basada, Sacbee.com, 12 Aug. 2026 The parent comet of the Perseids — the comet that sheds particles resulting in the meteor shower — is 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun about every 133 years. — Amen Galinato, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 The Perseids are debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an icy ball that orbits the sun every 133 years and isn't scheduled for a return visit until 2125. — CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 The Perseids are debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an icy ball that orbits the sun every 133 years and isn’t scheduled for a return visit until 2125. — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026 Worlds with no sun Every planet in our Solar System orbits the sun, but not all planets are so fortunate. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbits
  1. loops
  2. circles
  3. circuits
  4. traverses
  5. paths
  6. rings
  7. trajectories
  8. pathways
Noun
  • Instead, businesses need to pay attention to AI-specific metrics such as data drift, hallucinations, reasoning loops and token consumption.
    — Klaudia Zaika, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The production is a rattling junk drawer of circuit-bent thrift-store keyboards, dusty drum machines, and unintuitive loops, and KTO combines them into head-scratching, shouldn’t-work grooves.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of loops
Verb
  • The camera swoops over the course while Brady is at the top of his ladder and then circles its lens back after passing.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Cassiopeia circles Polaris as Earth rotates, so its orientation changes through the night.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of circles
Noun
  • If either of those circuits sides with the Tax Court’s functional test, a formal circuit split will emerge, creating the classic recipe for Supreme Court review.
    — Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
  • Then, looking at the amp rating of your circuits (most laundry appliances require a 15–30 amp circuit).
    — Lauren Bengtson, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Aug. 2025
Definition of circuits
Verb
  • In just over eight hours, the train traverses Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, beginning with the towns of Naperville, Princeton, and Galesburg, Illinois.
    — Lauren Dana Ellman, Midwest Living, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The Carolinian line heads from Charlotte to Raleigh and up the coast to New York City, and the Piedmont line traverses North Carolina.
    — Eva Flowe October 9, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of traverses
Noun
  • The company has been stretching to meet customers’ needs and was reviewing different financial paths to expand production and become more competitive, Solidigm said in a statement Friday.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Plazas and landscaped paths create room to pause between destinations.
    — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of paths
Verb
  • While this sentiment rings true, there is a significant amount of precedent to suggest that not all tax hikes are created equal in the eyes of California voters.
    — Trevor Laurence Jockims, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Much like a tuning fork, the resonator also rings when struck.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of rings
Noun
  • Even within the highest echelons of wealth concentration, these two groups are on different trajectories.
    — Markus Schneider, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The One Media Capital Fund will target Italian and international film and TV production companies that shoot in Italy, supporting their operations, the development of new projects and providing guidance to their growth trajectories.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of trajectories
Noun
  • Its faster trial infrastructure, its more integrated translational pathways, and its willingness to link industrial strategy to health delivery hold lessons for governments around the world.
    — Ruby Wang, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Even alternative pathways, such as adoption, surrogacy, or gamete or embryo donation, can cost a small fortune.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of pathways

Browse Nearby Words

orbiting
orbits
orbs
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Cite this Entry

“Orbits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbits. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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