What does "orb" mean?
A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star
Orb
/ɔɹb/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star
- Grammar: orb is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: globe, ball, aldebaran, ambit.
- Useful contrasts: blindness, elongate, flat map.
- Usage evidence: It is difficult to summarize all the steps by which, in seven years, Orbán builds a regime where the people become less free, more dependent on the state, more nationalistic and protectionist.
How to use "orb"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "orb" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "orb" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "orb" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "orb" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "orb" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "globe" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "orb", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star countable, uncountable
"In the small orb of one particular tear."
- 2 A blank window or panel.
"small blank windows or panels, for in later times such panels were called orbs, blind windows"
- 3 Initialism of object request broker. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 the ball-shaped capsule containing the vertebrate eye wordnet
- 5 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 countable, uncountable
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 Initialism of operations record book (used by RAF). abbreviation, alt-of, historical, initialism
- 7 an object with a spherical shape wordnet
- 8 A structural motif or finial in the shape of a sphere countable, uncountable
- 9 An orbit of an heavenly body countable, uncountable
"The schoolmen were like astronomers, which did feign eccentrics, and epicycles, and such engines of orbs."
- 10 The time period of an orbit countable, rare, uncountable
"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."
- 11 The eye, seen as a luminous and spherical entity countable, poetic, uncountable
"A drop serene hath quenched their orbs."
- 12 Any revolving circular body, such as a wheel countable, poetic, uncountable
"The orbs Of his fierce chariot rolled."
- 13 A sphere of action. countable, rare, uncountable
"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 inquire"
- 14 A globus cruciger; a ceremonial sphere used to represent royal or imperial power countable, uncountable
- 15 A translucent sphere appearing in flash photography (Orb (optics)) countable, uncountable
- 16 A body of soldiers drawn up in a circle, as for defence, especially infantry to repel cavalry. countable, uncountable
- 17 Amount of deviation from the closest perfect aspect. uncountable
"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."
Verb
- 1 To form into an orb or circle. poetic, transitive
"Let each His adamantine coat gird well, and each Fit well his helm, gripe fast his orbed shield"
- 2 move in an orbit wordnet
- 3 To become round like an orb. intransitive, poetic
- 4 To encircle; to surround; to enclose. poetic, transitive
"The wheels were orbed with gold."
Example
"It is difficult to summarize all the steps by which, in seven years, Orbán builds a regime where the people become less free, more dependent on the state, more nationalistic and protectionist."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "orb"?
Common synonyms include: globe, ball, aldebaran, ambit, area, arena.
How do you use "orb" in a sentence?
It is difficult to summarize all the steps by which, in seven years, Orbán builds a regime where the people become less free, more dependent on the state, more nationalistic and protectionist.
How do you pronounce "orb"?
Pronounced /ɔɹb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English orbe, from Old French orbe, from Latin orbis (“circle, orb”). Compare orbit.
Etymology 2
From Old French orb (“blind”), from Latin orbus (“destitute”).