orbiter

orbiter — noun

1. a vehicle sent into space to travel around a planet, moon, or similar object ins

1.nounC1
Definition

a vehicle sent into space to travel around a planet, moon, or similar object instead of going down onto it

Example

The Mars orbiter sent clear pictures of dust storms last night.

collocation: Mars orbiter

Engineers checked the orbiter's fuel before the launch from Florida.

launch context: check an orbiter's fuel

Common collocations
  • Mars orbiter
  • lunar orbiter
  • orbiter mission
  • launch an orbiter
Synonyms
  • satellite

    broader and often used for objects that go around Earth; it does not always suggest a research mission

  • spacecraft

    the broadest term for any vehicle operating in space

  • probe

    usually an unmanned research craft, which may orbit, fly past, or land

  • space vehicle

    a general descriptive term, less common in everyday use than spacecraft

Grammar Patterns

a Mars orbiter

launch an orbiter

the orbiter circled Venus

Usage Note

Usually named after the body it goes around, as in Mars orbiter or lunar orbiter. Distinguish from lander: an orbiter remains above the surface instead of touching down.

Common Mistakes

The orbiter landed on Mars this morning.
The lander landed on Mars this morning, while the orbiter stayed above it.
An orbiter travels around the body rather than going down onto its surface.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Orbiter is the most exact word when a craft's job is to keep moving around a planet or moon. Satellite is broader: it often means any object in orbit, especially around Earth, and it can be natural or human-made. Spacecraft is broader still because it can describe vehicles that orbit, land, or simply travel through space. Probe usually suggests an unmanned research craft, but a probe may fly past a planet or go down onto it, so it is not always an orbiter. Use orbiter when the circular path matters. You can say The orbiter circled Mars for a year, but The spacecraft left Earth covers the mission more generally.

orbiter ↗satellite ↗spacecraft ↗probe ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Mars orbiter
  • lunar orbiter
  • orbiter mission

Phrases

  • launch an orbiter
  • put an orbiter into space
  • send an orbiter around Mars

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Orbiter was formed in English from orbit and the ending -er, meaning something that does an action. Orbit came into English from French and ultimately from Latin orbita, a word for a track or course. In modern science, an orbiter is the craft that follows that path around a planet, moon, or other body in space.