planetoid

noun

plan·​et·​oid ˈpla-nə-ˌtȯid How to pronounce planetoid (audio)
: a small body resembling a planet
especially : asteroid
planetoidal adjective

Examples of planetoid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Some blue-collar space workers detect a strange transmission from an unknown planetoid, and their ship’s A.I. decides to wake them from hyper-sleep to investigate, because the ship’s A.I is definitely on their side (after all, Mother knows best). Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2024 Two of the planetoids are made of bone, suggesting death; another pair are translucent bowls or spheres filled with fluid, perhaps amniotic. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 The central conflict of Rebel Moon revolves around wheat, specifically the crop grown by hardy human settlers on the rocky planetoid Veldt in the first film, arriving this Dec. 22. EW.com, 16 Nov. 2023 Earth formed right along with everything else as particles joined to form clumps and then boulders and planetoids. Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 24 Oct. 2023 When Ripley crash-lands on the planetoid along with one xenomorph running loose and a another one growing inside her, the monks regard her as a kind of witch. Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023 Ward imagined a sort of space monastery populated by an all-male religious order that used futuristic technology only insofar as necessary to sustain life support on their artificial planetoid, which was patterned on 10th-century Earth, complete with artificial lakes and wheatfields. Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023 There is evidence that infant Earth was struck by a large planetoid called Theia. Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 9 May 2021 That said, 2001 FO32's path will present astronomers with a rare opportunity to closely observe the planetoid because 1.25 million miles is still relatively close in astronomical terms. Julia Musto, Fox News, 13 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of planetoid was in 1803

Dictionary Entries Near planetoid

Cite this Entry

“Planetoid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/planetoid. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

planetoid

noun
plan·​e·​toid
ˈplan-ə-ˌtȯid
1
: a body resembling a planet
2

More from Merriam-Webster on planetoid

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!