Library / English Dictionary

MINOR PLANET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous small celestial bodies that move around the sun

Synonyms:

minor planet; planetoid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("minor planet" is a kind of...):

celestial body; heavenly body (natural objects visible in the sky)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "minor planet"):

asteroid (any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter))

KBO; Kuiper belt object (any of many minor planets in the Kuiper belt outside the orbit of Neptune at the edge of the solar system)

Instance hyponyms:

Quaoar (a planetoid discovered in 2002)

Sedna (a planetoid of rock and ice about three-quarters the size of Pluto discovered in 2003; the most distant object known to orbit around the sun)

Holonyms ("minor planet" is a member of...):

solar system (the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field)

Credits