Orion

American  

[uh-rahy-uhn] / əˈraɪ ən /

noun

genitive

Orionis

1. Classical Mythology. a giant hunter who pursued the Pleiades, was eventually slain by Artemis, and was then placed in the sky as a constellation.

2. Astronomy. the Hunter, a constellation lying on the celestial equator between Canis Major and Taurus, containing the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

3. Military. a land-based U.S. Navy patrol plane with four turboprop engines, used to detect, track, and destroy enemy submarines and armed with missiles, torpedoes, mines, and depth bombs.

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Orion ¹ British  

/ əˈraɪən /

noun

1. Greek myth a Boeotian giant famed as a great hunter, who figures in several tales

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Orion ² British  

/ əˈraɪən /

noun

1. a conspicuous constellation near Canis Major containing two first magnitude stars (Betelgeuse and Rigel) and a distant bright emission nebula (the Orion Nebula ) associated with a system of giant molecular clouds and star formation

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Orion Scientific  

/ ō-rī′ən /

1. A constellation in the equatorial region of the celestial sphere, near Taurus and Gemini. Orion (the Hunter) contains the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.

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Example Sentences

Its huge dishes form part of a private space communications network, which tracked the Orion spacecraft whenever the Moon climbed above the horizon, collecting and processing the data before sending it on to Nasa.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Despite those issues, the astronauts lauded Orion’s performance during the mission, with Wiseman saying that if Orion launched tomorrow a crew on board would be in great shape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

However, the Orion spacecraft experienced issues with helium valves on Orion’s propulsion system, which helps the crew navigate in space.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

That included adding an optical communications system onto the Orion spacecraft, a laser that transmitted to a ground station on Earth, sending streaming video in higher resolution.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

Orion pulled on his leash and tried to run out of Glory’s hand.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova