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planet

noun
PLAN-it/ˈplænɪt/

Pluralplanets

3 meanings of planet

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A large round object, like Earth or Mars, that moves around a star. Older usage also included smaller objects.

    Like one of the big balls of rock or gas that circle the Sun.

    Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

    Scientists discovered a new planet orbiting a faraway star.

    UsageSay life on a planet.

    Similarworld

    Note
  2. 2
    Earthnouncountable
    Earth, the world that everyone lives on.

    We must take better care of this planet.

    The planet is growing warmer year after year.

    UsageSay the planet or this planet to mean Earth.

    Similarworld, globe

    Note
  3. 3
    wandering starnounhistoricalcountable
    In old star-lore, one of seven objects in the sky, including the Sun and Moon, that slowly change place among the stars.

    Old astrologers believed each planet shaped a person's fate.

    Another of Boehme's followers, the Welshman Morgan Llwyd, also believed that the seven planets could be found within man.
    1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of MagicHere, planets means seven moving objects in the sky, counting the Sun and Moon.
    Note

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Origin

It comes from Greek planḗtēs, meaning "wanderer," because planets seemed to move across the sky while stars stayed fixed. It reached English through Latin and Old French.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • The word ultimately comes from Greek planḗtēs, meaning “wanderer.” en.wiktionary.org
  • The name refers to planets’ apparent movement against the stars, whose relative arrangement appeared fixed. en.wikipedia.org
  • The word reached English through Latin and Old French. en.wiktionary.org