bolide

American

[boh-lahyd, -lid] / ˈboʊ laɪd, -lɪd /

noun

Astronomy.

a large, brilliant meteor, especially one that explodes; fireball.

bolide British

/ -lɪd, ˈbəʊlaɪd /

noun

Also called: fireball. a large exceptionally bright meteor that often explodes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bolide

First recorded in 1850–55; from French, from Greek bolid- (stem of bolís ) “missile”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The meteor - sometimes called a bolide for its particularly intense brightness - could be seen by much of southern Norway.

From BBC • Nov. 20, 2022

The next city-threatening bolide could arrive at any time.

From Scientific American • Mar. 21, 2019

Still, with all this evidence, one large piece remained missing: the crater where the bolide impact.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Astrophysicists say it was a bolide, or a meteor that explodes in the air.

From Newsweek • Feb. 15, 2013

Laplace has calculated that a force five times greater than that of an ordinary cannon would be sufficient to send a bolide from the Moon to the Earth.

From All Around the Moon by Roth, Edward

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023