as in circling
to travel completely around
the moon orbits the Earth
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Recent Examples of orbiting
The four-person crew is currently orbiting Earth before beginning a four-day trip to the moon.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
After that, the Artemis II crew members will spend the following 23 hours or so testing all of Orion’s systems while orbiting Earth.
—Charlie Gile, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026
An uncrewed Orion was tested during Artemis I in November 2022, sending the spacecraft as close as 60 miles from the moon, and then 40,000 miles above the moon when orbiting over its dark side.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
That works out to an astronaut mission to the orbiting lab about every six years at current flight rates.
—Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
This is the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the fourth trip for Fincke, and the second for Yui, to the orbiting laboratory.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026
But despite a lot of space start-ups aiming to build orbiting habitats, no commercial space station has yet materialized, and NASA leadership is losing patience.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 24 Mar. 2026
In his presentation, Musk also pushed back on critics who questioned how the company would cool the orbiting data centers, since space has no air.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
After that, the Artemis II crew members will spend the following 23 hours or so testing all of Orion’s systems while orbiting Earth.
—Charlie Gile, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026
An uncrewed Orion was tested during Artemis I in November 2022, sending the spacecraft as close as 60 miles from the moon, and then 40,000 miles above the moon when orbiting over its dark side.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
That works out to an astronaut mission to the orbiting lab about every six years at current flight rates.
—Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
This is the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the fourth trip for Fincke, and the second for Yui, to the orbiting laboratory.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Mar. 2026
But despite a lot of space start-ups aiming to build orbiting habitats, no commercial space station has yet materialized, and NASA leadership is losing patience.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 24 Mar. 2026
In his presentation, Musk also pushed back on critics who questioned how the company would cool the orbiting data centers, since space has no air.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for orbiting
Verb
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As a 10-day moon-circling mission, Artemis II primarily serves as a test flight, with the four-person crew testing systems and hardware ahead of a future landing.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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The 2025 Galaxy XCover7 Pro enhances the rugged lineup with Circle to Search functionality, allowing field workers to instantly research tools or parts on-site by simply circling them on the screen.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After 5½ hours on backcountry skis, traversing the Sierra Nevada’s rapidly melting snowpack beneath a scorching spring sun, the guide at the front of our group stopped and went silent.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
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The Nile is Africa’s longest river, it and its principal tributaries traversing parts of 10 countries and several different physiographic regions.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Our beautiful encircling topography of mountains and hills is a bowl ready-made by ancient plate tectonics to be filled with smoke and smog.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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The rooms Spread over a handful of buildings encircling the central courtyard, Aleenta Retreat's 44 rooms range from spacious deluxe rooms with lounge-y balconies to two-story residences with two bedrooms and a small private courtyard with a plunge pool.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Orbiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/orbiting. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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