satellite

/ˈsætəlaɪt/

noun★Intermediate

💻Technology

technical

an artificial object placed into orbit around Earth or another celestial body to collect data or facilitate communication

NASA launched a new satellite to monitor climate change.

NASA sent a satellite into space to track environmental changes.

💡

Satellites can be used for communication, navigation, weather forecasting, and scientific research.

formal

a celestial body that orbits a larger body, such as a moon orbiting a planet

Earth is a satellite of the Sun.

Earth revolves around the Sun, making it a satellite of the Sun.

💡

In astronomy, natural satellites are often called moons.

Collocations

artificial satellitea man-made object in orbitgeostationary satellitea satellite that stays fixed relative to a point on Earth's surface

satellite dishphrase

a device used to receive signals from satellites

Remember that 'satellite' can refer to both natural (like moons) and artificial objects (like communication satellites).

In technical contexts, 'satellite' usually refers to artificial objects used for communication or data collection.

From Old French 'satellite', from Latin 'satelles', meaning 'attendant' or 'guard'.

The term 'satellite' can refer to both natural (e.g., moons) and artificial objects in orbit.

sat

from Latin 'satelles', meaning 'attendant'

root

-ellite

suffix indicating a small attendant object

suffix

English Dictionary