Meaning

2 senses
  1. Any of the 8 celestial bodies which orbit the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (a celestial body that fits the 2006 IAU definition of planet).

    (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction

  2. Any planet that is significantly larger and more massive than Earth, containing large amounts of hydrogen and helium, such as Jupiter and Neptune.

Examples

2 sentences
  1. Mercury is the smallest of the eight major planets in the Solar System.

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  2. Our solar system has eight major planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

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Forms

plural: major planets
Singularmajor planet
Pluralmajor planets

regular

Synonyms

1 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction:planet

Antonyms

2 antonyms
larger than Earth:minor planet
2006 IAU definition of planet:dwarf planet

Word family

3 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
major planet — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto