suborbital

adjective

sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bə-tᵊl How to pronounce suborbital (audio)
1
: situated beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye
2
: being or involving less than one orbit (as of the earth or moon)
also : intended for suborbital flight

Examples of suborbital in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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But a growing number these days are performed by HASTE, a suborbital variant of Electron that allows customers to test technologies in a hypersonic flight environment. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Over the course of 13 test flights, SpaceX has attempted to fly Starship along roughly the same suborbital path, while the company has tweaked, re-imagined and designed around various issues that have emerged throughout the flight campaign. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026 Finding the best path to space… The company has, however, now concluded that its ground and combined testing has reduced the value of conducting a suborbital test flight. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 Following stage separation minutes later, the booster made a water landing off the Gulf coast of Texas while the upper-stage continued on into suborbital space. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for suborbital

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of suborbital was in 1803

Rhymes for suborbital

See All Rhymes for suborbital

Browse Nearby Words

suborbicular
suborbital
suborder
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Cite this Entry

“Suborbital.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suborbital. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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Medical Definition

suborbital

adjective
sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bət-ᵊl How to pronounce suborbital (audio)
: situated or occurring beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye
suborbital fat
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