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orbit

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "orbit", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "orbit" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "orbit" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

orbit is aEnglishnoun. It means: The curved path of one object around a point or another body. Pronounced /ˈɔː.bɪt/. It ranks #6,816 in English word frequency. Often confused with Ori and Ortiz.

Key facts for orbit
PropertyValue
Headwordorbit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔː.bɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,816
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of orbit in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for orbit is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɔː.bɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,816 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for orbit, with forms such as "obrit", "orbbit", and "orbitt". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Ori", "Ortiz", "Orrin", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English orbite, orbita, from Latin orbita (“course, track, impression, mark”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is orbit, spelled O-R-B-I-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
  2. 2
    The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
  3. 3
    The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
  4. 4
    The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
  5. 5
    The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
  6. 6
    A sphere of influence; an area or extent of activity, interest, or control.
  7. 7
    The bony cavity in the skull of a vertebrate containing the eyeball.
  8. 8
    The bony cavity in the skull of a vertebrate containing the eyeball.
  9. 9
    A collection of points related by the evolution function of a dynamical system.
  10. 10
    The subset of elements of a set X to which a given element can be moved by members of a specified group of transformations that act on X.
  11. 11
    The number of hands such that each player at the table has posted the big blind once.
  12. 12
    A state of increased excitement, activity, or anger.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English orbite, orbita, from Latin orbita (“course, track, impression, mark”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: obrit,orbbit,orbitt,orbti,oribt,orrbit,robit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for orbit

Misspelling Variants of "orbit"

obrit5orbbit6orbitt6orbti5oribt5orrbit6robit5
Misspelling Variants of "orbit"

Frequency rank: #6,816 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "orbit"?
"orbit" is spelled O-R-B-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔː.bɪt/.
What does "orbit" mean?
As a noun, "orbit" means: The curved path of one object around a point or another body.
What words are commonly confused with "orbit"?
"orbit" is commonly confused with "Ori", "Ortiz", "Orrin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "orbit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "orbit" is /ˈɔː.bɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "orbit"?
Inherited from Middle English orbite, orbita, from Latin orbita (“course, track, impression, mark”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter O in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.