circumbinary

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adjective

Having an orbit around both stars in a binary star system, or relating to such an orbit.

Scrabble 23
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Meanings

adjectivecircumbinary (not comparable)
  1. not comparableastronomyHaving an orbit around both stars in a binary star system, or relating to such an orbit.

    The effect of a reduced collision rate at large orbital radii on the formation timescale of planets is possibly explained by Alexander (2012) who suggests that circumbinary planets have more time to form than planets around single stars.

    2014 Jan. 15, Stefan Lines et al., "Forming Circumbinary Planets: N-body Simulations of Kepler-34," The Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 782, L11 (retrieved 11 Feb 2014)

Origin

From circum- + binary.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French circumbinaire
  • circumbinairehaving an orbit around binary stars, or relating to such an orbit
German zirkumbinär
  • zirkumbinärhaving an orbit around binary stars, or relating to such an orbit
Russian циркумбина́рный
  • циркумбина́рный (cirkumbinárnyj)having an orbit around binary stars, or relating to such an orbit
Cite this entry
APA

circumbinary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumbinary

MLA

“circumbinary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumbinary. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “circumbinary,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumbinary.

Source: circumbinary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.