meteor

nounanything that progresses with spectacular speed

Word Origin & History

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).

Example Sentences for meteor

Suppose she lead me now and then in pursuit of a meteor; am not I happy in the chase?

Then, without delay, he lowered the car into the meteor again.

Good Lord, they must have headed right into a meteor shower.

The inertia of the meteor has persisted, not as energy, but as a factor of energy.

There was but one Bonaparte; that subaltern from Corsica; that meteor.

A meteor had been seen nearby, but its train had been only momentarily visible.

Motion too fast for a cloud, but "nothing could be more unlike the rush of a meteor."

Too slow for a meteor, but too fast for a cloud (Nature, 27-86).

A like meteor was observed at Greenland by the Moravian brothers in 1799.

A meteor glows because of friction, and in a vacuum there is no friction.

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Synonyms for meteor

noun anything that progresses with spectacular speed

More words related to meteor

meme

noun. cultural item repeatedly transmitted

meteor

Synonyms for meteor

More words related to meteor

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