orb
/ɔːb/US/ɔɹb/
orb noun: a spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star.
Noun (1)
orb (countable and uncountable, plural orbs)
- A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star
- In the small orb of one particular tear.c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry...
- Whether the prime orb, Incredible how swift, had thither rolled.1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Celestial sphere; one of the azure transparent spheres conceived by the ancients to be enclosed one within another, and to carry the heavenly bodies in their revolutions
- A structural motif or finial in the shape of a sphere
- An orbit of an heavenly body
- The schoolmen were like astronomers, which did feign eccentrics, and epicycles, and such engines of orbs.1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Superstition”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC
- You seem to me as Dian in her orb.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- The time period of an orbit
- Know none before us, self-begot, self-rais'd / By our own quick'ning power, when fatal course / Had circl'd his full Orbe, the birth mature / Of this our native Heav'n, Ethereal Sons.1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book V
- Synonyms:
- year
- The eye, seen as a luminous and spherical entity
- A drop serene hath quenched their orbs.1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Painfully, he forced his hot eyelids to unclose, and his distended orbs sought for some object whereon to fix; they met the patch of grass, yet red with the blood of Walter Maynard.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Assignation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 260
- Synonyms:
- eye
- Any revolving circular body, such as a wheel
- The orbs Of his fierce chariot rolled.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- A sphere of action.
- By what fatality the orb of my genius […] acts upon these men like the moon upon a certain description of patients, it would be irksome to inquire1815, William Wordsworth, Essay, Supplementary to the Preface
- But in our orbs we'll live so round and safe.c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry...
- A globus cruciger; a ceremonial sphere used to represent royal or imperial power
- Synonyms:
- globe, globus cruciger, mound
- A translucent sphere appearing in flash photography (Orb (optics))
- A body of soldiers drawn up in a circle, as for defence, especially infantry to repel cavalry.
- Amount of deviation from the closest perfect aspect.
- For example, an approaching transitioning aspect (i.e., for 120 degrees) is effective when it remains within 2 degrees of orb on either side of the perfect angle.2005, William Noah, Astrology of America, page 234
- Astrologers' opinions vary on how many degrees of orb to allow for each aspect.2012, Kris Brandt Riske, Llewellyn's 2013 Sun Sign Book: Horoscopes for Everyone, page 18
Verb
orb (third-person singular simple present orbs, present participle orbing, simple past and past participle orbed)
- To form into an orb or circle.
- Let each
His adamantine coat gird well, and each
Fit well his helm, gripe fast his orbed shield1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker... - a full-orbed sun1842, James Russell Lowell, sonnet
- Let each
- To become round like an orb.
- To encircle; to surround; to enclose.
- The wheels were orbed with gold.1717, Joseph Addison, Metamorphoses
Noun (2)
orb (plural orbs)
- A blank window or panel.
- small blank windows or panels, for in later times such panels were called orbs, blind windows1845, Robert Willis, The Architectural History of Canterbury Cathedral
Noun (3) capitalized: ORB
ORB (plural ORBs)
- Initialism of object request broker.
- Initialism of operations record book (used by RAF).
orb meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Telugu
orb in Hindi
- ऑर्ब, ऑरब
orb in Marathi
- ऑर्ब
orb in Bengali
- অর্ব
orb in Telugu
- ఆర్బ్, ఓర్బ్
More languagesFewer languages
- orb in Malayalam
- ഓർബ്
- orb in Kannada
- ಓರ್ಬ್
- orb in Punjabi
- ਓਰਬ
- orb in Gujarati
- ઓર્બ
- orb in Nepali
- ओर्ब, ओर्ब्
Examples of orb in a sentence
- In orbs / Of circuit inexpressible they stood, / Orb within orb.1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert...
- For example Mars has its orb 7 degrees to the Sun.2015, Padam Singh, Krishna Attri, Astrology For Stock Market:
Synonyms of orb
5 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of orb
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | orbs |
| plural | ORBs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | orbs |
| present participle | orbing |
| past participle | orbed |
| past | orbed |
Origin of orb
From Middle English orbe, from Old French orbe, from Latin orbis (“circle, orb”). Compare orbit.
From Old French orb (“blind”), from Latin orbus (“destitute”).
Words formed from orb
Phrases with orb
Words that rhyme with orb
Questions about orb
- What does orb mean?
- Orb means a spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star.
- What is orb in Hindi?
- Orb in Hindi is ऑर्ब, ऑरब. See Orb meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use orb in a sentence?
- In orbs / Of circuit inexpressible they stood, / Orb within orb.
- What part of speech is orb?
- Orb can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce orb?
- Orb is pronounced /ɔɹb/ (US).
- What is the plural of orb?
- The plural of orb is orbs.
Words near orb in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: orb (page history and authors); ORB (page history and authors); orb (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); orb (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-orb.wav.
Cite this entry: “orb.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/orb. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.