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planet

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planet
plan‧et W3 /ˈplænət, ˈplænɪt/ noun [countable]
 Date: 1100-1200
 Language: Old French
 Origin: planete, from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planes 'wanderer'

1. a very large round object in space that moves around the Sun or another star:
    Mercury is the smallest of all the planets.
    Is there life on other planets?
    the future of planet Earth
  ► Do not say ‘in a planet’. Say on a planet.
2. somebody is (living) on another planet/what planet is somebody on? spoken used humorously to say that someone’s ideas are not at all practical or sensible:
    He thinks motherhood is glamorous – what planet is he on?
3. the planet the world – used especially when talking about the environment:
    a safer future for the planet
—planetary adjective [only before noun]:
    the planetary system
     
THESAURUS
■ in the sky
   ▪ star a large ball of burning gas in space, which can be seen at night as a point of light in the sky: The dark night sky was clear and full of stars.
   ▪ planet one of the large objects that goes around the sun, for example the Earth, Saturn, Mercury, or Mars: The planet Uranus was discovered in 1781.
   ▪ sun the star that gives us light and heat, around which the planets move. There are also many millions of other suns in the universe: The sun came out from behind a cloud. | a dying sun
   ▪ moon the round object that moves around the Earth every 28 days, or a similar object that goes around another planet: The moon rose in the night sky. | Titan is one of the moons of Saturn.
   ▪ asteroid a mass of rock that moves around the sun. Most asteroids are found between Jupiter and Mars: the asteroid belt
   ▪ pulsar a type of star that is far away in space and produces radiation and RADIO WAVES
   ▪ quasar an object like a star that is far away in space and shines extremely brightly
   ▪ supernova a very large exploding star
   ▪ constellation a group of stars that forms a particular pattern and has a name: The constellation of Orion is one of the most easily recognizable patterns of stars in the night sky.
   ▪ galaxy one of the large groups of stars that make up the universe: Astronomers have detected a galaxy 11 billion light years away.
   ▪ the universe all space, including all the stars and planets: How many planets in the universe have life?