orbit

Etymology

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

noun

1. the curved path of one object around a point or another body.
   1. (astronomy) A circular or elliptical path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a star, planet, moon, or Lagrange point, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.
      1. One complete circuit round an orbited body.
         The Moon's orbit around the Earth takes nearly one month to complete.
   2. (uncountable) The state of moving in an orbit.
   3. (physics) The path of an electron around an atomic nucleus.
   4. (pinball) A path for the ball on the outer edge of the playfield, usually connected so that the ball entering in one end will come out of the other.
2. A sphere of influence; an area or extent of activity, interest, or control.
   In the post WWII era, several eastern European countries came into the orbit of the Soviet Union.
   The convenience store was a heavily travelled point in her daily orbit, as she purchased both cigarettes and lottery tickets there.
3. (anatomy) The bony cavity in the skull of a vertebrate containing the eyeball.
   1. (zoology) The area around the eye of a bird or other animal.
4. (mathematics) A collection of points related by the evolution function of a dynamical system.
5. (geometry, group theory) 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.
6. (informal) A state of increased excitement, activity, or anger.
   Dad went into orbit when I told him that I'd crashed the car.
   Given a veritable Pagan's Paddock by the Cats to work in on Friday night, Danger booted two goals in the first seven minutes to send Geelong fans into orbit. 18 September 2017, Andrew McGarry, “AFL finals week two: The heroes and villains from the elimination semi-finals”, in ABC News, archived from the original on 2018-10-02

verb

1. (astronomy) To circle or revolve around another object or position.
   The Earth orbits the Sun.
   The satellite orbits the Lagrange point.
   1. To place an object (e.g. a satellite) into an orbit around a planet.
      A rocket was used to orbit the satellite.
2. To move around the general vicinity of something.
   The harried mother had a cloud of children orbiting her, begging for sweets.
3. To move in a circle.
4. (transitive) To center (around).
   I have orbited my entire life around you, and you know it, okay? 2013, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight (motion picture), spoken by Jesse (Ethan Hawke)
5. (transitive, dating) To continue to follow and/or engage with someone via social media after breaking up with them.