orbital

Everyday

1. Orbital means to do with an orbit, the path of something going round a planet, star or moon. tree →
2. (UK) An orbital road goes round a city, like London's M25. tree →
3. The orbital bone is the bony cup around the eye. tree →
4. (science) An orbital is a region in an atom where electrons are found. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on space (orbital period, orbital speed) and in geography and road maps.

Examples

• The Moon's orbital period is about 27 days. tree →
• The space station has an orbital speed of about 28,000 km an hour. tree →
• The M25 is an orbital motorway round London. tree →
• He hurt his orbital bone playing rugby. tree →
• Earth's orbital path is almost a circle. tree →
• Satellites are placed in orbital paths around Earth. tree →

Note

From «orbit» + «-al». In a maths or science problem, the orbital period is the time for one full trip round; Earth's is about 365 days.