orbit
part of speech
noun (an orbit, orbits); verb (orbit, orbits, orbited, orbiting)
meaning for a pupil
1) An orbit is the curved path of a planet, moon or satellite going around a star or planet. tree →
2) (verb) To orbit is to move around something in a path like this. tree →
3) An orbit can mean someone's area of interest or influence. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons the Earth orbits the Sun once a year (about 365 days), and the Moon orbits the Earth about once a month. Satellites orbit the Earth to send TV signals and help with weather forecasts. Phrases: in orbit, go into orbit, orbit around.
examples
- The Earth orbits the Sun. tree →
- The Moon takes about 27 days to orbit the Earth. tree →
- The rocket put a satellite into orbit. tree →
- Astronauts live on the space station in orbit. tree →
- Mars has a longer orbit than Earth. tree →
- The planets' orbits are almost circles. tree →
note
Regular verb: orbited, orbiting (one t). The orbit is almost a circle (an ellipse). Myth: there is no gravity in orbit — there is; astronauts float because they are falling around the Earth. In maths: one orbit of the Earth around the Sun = one year.
In the corpora
- A satnav or phone finds its position by timing radio signals from at least four satellites in orbit.
- On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, orbiting the Earth once in 108 minutes.
- The Wall is many walls from many dynasties, and even China's astronaut Yang Liwei said he could not see it from orbit.
- Tides come about 50 minutes later each day, because the Moon moves on in its orbit.
- The giant planets probably moved their orbits after they formed, scattering many small icy bodies inward and outward.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «orbit» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.