Meteoroid

2 definitions found

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

  Meteoroid \Me"te*or*oid\ (m[=e]"t[-e]*[~e]r*oid), n. [Meteor +
     -oid.] (Astron.)
     A small body moving through space, or revolving about the
     sun, which on entering the earth's atmosphere would be
     deflagrated and appear as a meteor.
     [1913 Webster]


  
           These bodies [small, solid bodies] before they come
           into the air, I call meteoroids.         --H. A.
                                                    Newton.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  meteoroid
       n : (astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies
           that hits the earth's atmosphere [syn: {meteor}]