Asteroid

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Asteroid \As"ter*oid\, n. [Gr. ? starlike, starry; 'asth`r star
     + e'i^dos form: cf. F. ast['e]ro["i]de. See {Aster}.]
     A starlike body; esp. one of the numerous small planets whose
     orbits lie between those of Mars and Jupiter; -- called also
     {planetoids} and {minor planets}.
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  asteroid
       adj : shaped like a star [syn: {star-shaped}]
       n : any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and
           metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits
           of Mars and Jupiter) [syn: {minor planet}, {planetoid}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  31 Moby Thesaurus words for "asteroid":
     Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus,
     Venus, asteroids, aurora particles, blackout, cosmic particles,
     cosmic ray bombardment, inferior planet, intergalactic matter,
     major planet, meteor dust impacts, meteors, minor planet, planet,
     planetoid, radiation, secondary planet, solar system,
     space bullets, superior planet, terrestrial planet, the bends,
     wanderer, weightlessness