satellite
Pluralsatellites
Verbsatellites, satelliting, satellited
Pluralsatellites
Formssatellites, satelliting, satellited
- 1A machine that people send into space to circle a planet and send signals back to Earth.
Like a small machine flying in big circles high above us, watching and sending news down.
The satellite sends weather pictures back to Earth every hour.
Scientists launched a new satellite to study the oceans.
- 2A moon or other small object in space that circles a bigger one.
Like a small ball swung around a bigger ball on a string.
The giant planet has more than sixty satellites circling it.
Our moon is the only natural satellite of Earth.
Similarmoon
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- 3A country, group, or building that is controlled by a larger, more powerful one.
Like a little kingdom that has to do whatever the big kingdom next door says.
After the war, the small country became a satellite of its powerful neighbor.
Each branch office is really a satellite that answers to the head office.
Similardependency, puppet, colony, vassal, client
- 4A small town that depends on a bigger city close by for jobs and services.
Like a young bird that still depends on the big nest nearby for food.
The new satellite grew quickly as people commuted to the city for work.
Many families moved to the quiet satellite just outside the busy capital.
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- 5Television that reaches your home using signals beamed down from space.
Like getting your shows from the sky instead of through a wire in the ground.
We switched to satellite so we could watch more sports channels.
They get hundreds of channels on satellite now.
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- 6To send a TV or radio program to faraway places using a space satellite.
Like bouncing a message off something high in the sky so people far away can catch it.
The network will satellite the game to stations across the country.
They satellite the news feed to studios overseas every night.
Similarbeam, transmit, relay, broadcast
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- 7A long stretch of DNA made of the same short pattern repeated over and over.
Like the same short word printed again and again to fill a whole page.
Scientists found a satellite made of the same DNA pattern repeated thousands of times.
The satellite near the center of the chromosome does not make any protein.
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- 8In grammar, a small word added to a verb that shows direction, a change, or how an action happens.
Like a little extra word that travels with a verb the way a moon travels with a planet.
In the phrase "fly away," the word "away" is a satellite that shows direction.
Many English verbs pair with a satellite like "up" or "off" to change their meaning.
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Less common meaning
- 9A follower who serves an important person and does what they want.
Like a helper who always stays close to a powerful boss and obeys every order.
The duke arrived with a satellite who carried his cloak and ran his errands.
Every powerful lord kept a satellite or two to do his dirty work.
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Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Latin "satelles," meaning "attendant," through Middle French "satellite." It may have Etruscan roots.