Meteor vs. Meteorite

Meteornoun

A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere: A shooting star or falling star.

Meteornoun

(archaic) Any atmospheric phenomenon. (Thus the derivation of meteorology.) These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars).

Meteornoun

(juggling) A prop similar to poi balls, in that it is twirled at the end of a cord or cable.

Meteornoun

(martial arts) A striking weapon resembling a track and field hammer consisting of a weight swung at the end of a cable or chain.

Meteornoun

(figurative) Any short-lived source of wonderment.

Meteorverb

(intransitive) To move at great speed.

Meteornoun

Any phenomenon or appearance in the atmosphere, as clouds, rain, hail, snow, etc.

Meteornoun

Specif.: A transient luminous body or appearance seen in the atmosphere, or in a more elevated region.

Meteornoun

A mass of stone or other substance which sometimes falls to the earth from space beyond the moon, burning up from atomospheric friction and creating a brilliant but usually very brief trail of light in the atmosphere; also called a shooting star.

Meteornoun

a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth's atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explode

Meteornoun

(astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere

Meteoritenoun

A metallic or stony object or body that is the remains of a meteoroid.

Meteoritenoun

A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an aërolite.

Meteoritenoun

stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface

Meteorite

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy.