suborbital

adjective

sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bə-tᵊl 

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

Technological advances in suborbital and direct-to-space travel could slash long-distance travel times to the extent that intercontinental travel would be under one hour. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

Ship will attempt to deploy four payloads — mock versions of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites — on its suborbital trajectory. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 Feb. 2025

Thursday's launch echoed the previous Starship demonstration on Jan. 16 ended in a fiery explosion after the Starship vehicle was lost during its suborbital flight. —James Powel, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025

These lower operating expenses are tied to Virgin Galactic's decision to suspend operations of its VSS Unity suborbital rocket plane last year to focus investment into a new series of suborbital spacecraft known as Delta-class ships. —Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for suborbital

• infraorbital
• postorbital
• interorbital
• periorbital
• supraorbital
• orbital

Medical Definition

suborbital

adjective

sub·​or·​bit·​al ˌsəb-ˈȯr-bət-ᵊl 

: situated or occurring beneath the eye or the orbit of the eye

suborbital fat