orbital

[ awr-bi-tl ]

adjective

1. of or relating to an orbit.

noun

1. Physics, Chemistry.
   1. a wave function describing the state of a single electron in an atom atomic orbital or in a molecule molecular orbital.
   2. the electron in that state.

orbital

/ ˈɔːbɪtəl /

adjective

1. of or denoting an orbit
2. (of a motorway or major road circuit) circling a large city

noun

1. a region surrounding an atomic nucleus in which the probability distribution of the electrons is given by a wave function
2. an orbital road

Derived Forms

• ˈorbitally, adverb

Other Words From

• inter·orbi·tal adjective
• inter·orbi·tal·ly adverb
• pre·orbit·al adjective
• super·orbit·al adjective
• trans·orbi·tal adjective
• un·orbi·tal adjective
• un·orbi·tal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of orbital¹

1535–45; < New Latin, Medieval Latin orbitālis; orbit, -al ¹

Example Sentences

Samantha Harvey, author of “Orbital,” took home the award Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times

“Compact yet beautifully expansive, Orbital invites us to observe the Earth’s splendour, whilst reflecting on the individual and collective value of every human life,” the Booker Prize judges wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

“All year we have celebrated fiction that inhabits ideas rather than declaiming on issues, not finding answers but changing the question of what we wanted to explore. Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Orbital” is enjoying some popular as well as critical success.

From Los Angeles Times

In an interview on the prize website, she described “Orbital” as a space pastoral and said she wanted to write a realistic, rather than fantastic, version of humans in low Earth orbit.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• annual
• intermittent
• monthly
• occasional
• recurrent
• recurring
• regular
• repeated
• routine
• seasonal
• sporadic
• weekly
• yearly