meteoroid

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noun

A relatively small (sand- to boulder-sized) fragment of debris in a star system that produces a meteor when it hits the atmosphere

Similar
meteor
OriginAncient Greek εἶδος (eîdos) ← Proto-Hellenic *wéidos ← Proto-Indo-European *wéydos →
RareScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounmeteoroid (plural meteoroids)

plural meteoroids

  1. astronomyA relatively small (sand- to boulder-sized) fragment of debris in a star system that produces a meteor when it hits the atmosphere

Synonyms & antonyms

noun(astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere

Similar
meteor
Broader
extraterrestrial objectestraterrestrial bodyextraterrestrial body
Also see
meteor

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishmeteor
  2. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
  4. Proto-Hellenic*wéidos
  5. Ancient Greekεἶδος (eîdos)
  6. Englishmeteoroid

From meteor + -oid.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نَيْزَك
  • نَيْزَك (nayzak)small debris in a star system
Bulgarian метеороид, метеорно тяло
  • метеороид (meteoroid)small debris in a star system
  • метеорно тяло (meteorno tjalo)small debris in a star system
Esperanto meteoroido
  • meteoroidosmall debris in a star system
Finnish meteoroidi
  • meteoroidismall debris in a star system
French météoroïde
  • météoroïdesmall debris in a star system
German Meteoroid
  • Meteoroidsmall debris in a star system
Hindi उल्का
  • उल्का (ulkā)small debris in a star system
Icelandic reikisteinn, geimsteinn
  • reikisteinnsmall debris in a star system
  • geimsteinnsmall debris in a star system
  • geimgrýtismall debris in a star system
Irish dreigeoideach
  • dreigeoideachsmall debris in a star system
Italian meteoroide
  • meteoroidesmall debris in a star system
Persian شهابوار, نیزک
  • شهابوار (šahâb-vâr)small debris in a star system
  • نیزک (neyzak)small debris in a star system
Polish meteoroid
  • meteoroidsmall debris in a star system
Portuguese meteoróide
  • meteoróidesmall debris in a star system
Spanish meteoroide
  • meteoroidesmall debris in a star system
Tagalog bulalayak
  • bulalayaksmall debris in a star system
Cite this entry
APA

meteoroid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meteoroid

MLA

“meteoroid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meteoroid. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “meteoroid,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meteoroid.

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