meteor

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“
When the meteor is approaching earth, there's a pretty good reason to try to resolve the conflict.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun A bright trail or streak that appears in the sky when a meteoroid is heated to incandescence by friction with the earth's atmosphere. Also called falling star, meteor burst, shooting star.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Paul has seen a wonderful bright green light from a meteor, possibly an indication that the meteor was passing through a layer of oxygen, which glows green when it absorbs and re-emits energy. —  F ;SF; - vol 101 issue 01 - July 2001
  • Kendall confirmed she was told that the flying object was a meteor, and that others reported seeing a similar phenomenon from the Parks Highway. —  Signs of the Times
  • "Here comes the bride!" hollers a wedding guest-only the lady in question is a literal Bridezilla turned skyscraper-size by a radioactive meteor, and the soldiers below aren't exactly throwing rice. —  NashvilleScene.com
  • Although hitting a meteor is a distinct possibility, the mathematical chances are so minute that the scientists refuse to worry about them. —  Modern Mechanix
  • When it enters the atmosphere, impact pressure causes the body to heat-up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting star. —  Signs of the Times
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English metheour, atmospheric phenomenon, from Old French meteore, from Medieval Latin meteōrum, from Greek meteōron, astronomical phenomenon, from neuter of meteōros, high in the air : meta-, meta- + -āoros, lifted; akin to āeirein, to lift up; see wer-1 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Old French meteore, French météore = Spanish Portuguese meteoro = It. meteora, from New Latin meteorum, from Greek μετέωρον, a meteor (def. l), usually in plural μετέωρα, literally ‘things in the air,’ neuter of μετέωρος, lifted up, on high, in air, from μετά, beyond, + ἀείρειν, lift up, raise (later ἐώρα, another form of ἀιώρα, a being lifted up or suspended on high, hovering, anything suspended).
 

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/ˈmitəər/
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