Meanings
nounO'Neill cylinder (plural O'Neill cylinders)
plural O'Neill cylinders
- A proposed space settlement consisting of two cylinders that rotate to provide artificial gravity via centrifugal force.
Synonyms: O'Neill colony
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA proposed space settlement consisting of two cylinders that rotate to provide artificial gravity via centrifugal force.
Similar
Also see
Origin
Proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
O'Neill cylinder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/O'Neill%20cylinder
MLA
“O'Neill cylinder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/O'Neill%20cylinder. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “O'Neill cylinder,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/O'Neill%20cylinder.
Source: O'Neill cylinder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.