: a spherical shell of cometary bodies believed to surround the sun far beyond the orbits of the outermost planets and from which some are dislodged when perturbed to fall toward the sun compare kuiper belt
Examples of Oort cloud in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Scientists calculated the comet originated from a region called the Oort cloud in the most distant part of our solar system.
—
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024
The inner edge of the Oort cloud is somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 thousand Astronomical Units (AU, the length of the typical Earth-Sun distance) away.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
The solar system includes the distant Oort cloud, a spherical collection of cometlike bodies bound by the sun's gravity that may stretch halfway to the closest star.
—Tim Folger, Scientific American, 18 June 2022
The colossal comet may be dashing our way from the Oort cloud at a speedy 22,000 miles per hour, per Space.com.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2022
The Oort cloud represents the very edges of our solar system.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2021
The Oort cloud is even further than the Kuiper belt, a region where NASA has discovered the mysterious Arrokoth.
—Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024
The inner edge of the Oort cloud is somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 thousand Astronomical Units (AU, the length of the typical Earth-Sun distance) away.
—Paul Sutter, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
The solar system includes the distant Oort cloud, a spherical collection of cometlike bodies bound by the sun's gravity that may stretch halfway to the closest star.
—Tim Folger, Scientific American, 18 June 2022
The colossal comet may be dashing our way from the Oort cloud at a speedy 22,000 miles per hour, per Space.com.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2022
The Oort cloud represents the very edges of our solar system.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2021
The Oort cloud is even further than the Kuiper belt, a region where NASA has discovered the mysterious Arrokoth.
—Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2020
Dictionary Entries Near Oort cloud
Cite this Entry
“Oort cloud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Oort%20cloud. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Oort cloud
noun
: a spherical shell of small icy bodies (as comets) that orbit the sun far beyond Pluto
Etymology
named after Jan Oort, 1900–1992, Dutch astronomer
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share