Fireball vs. Meteor

Fireballnoun

A ball of fire, especially one associated with an explosion.

Meteornoun

A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere: A shooting star or falling star.

Fireballnoun

(astronomy) A meteor bright enough to cast shadows.

Meteornoun

(archaic) Any atmospheric phenomenon. (Thus the derivation of meteorology.) These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars).

Fireballnoun

(sailing) A class of sailing dinghy with a single trapeze and a symmetrical spinnaker, sailed by a crew of two.

Meteornoun

(juggling) A prop similar to poi balls, in that it is twirled at the end of a cord or cable.

Fireballnoun

(heraldry) A charge made of a disc-shaped bomb shell, with four sets of flames, at the top, bottom and on either side.

Meteornoun

(martial arts) A striking weapon resembling a track and field hammer consisting of a weight swung at the end of a cable or chain.

Fireballnoun

A ball filled with combustibles to be thrown among enemies.

Meteornoun

(figurative) Any short-lived source of wonderment.

Fireballverb

(intransitive) To explode in a ball of flame.

‘The car swerved off a road, hit a wall, and fireballed as the petrol tank exploded.’;

Meteorverb

(intransitive) To move at great speed.

Fireballverb

(baseball) To pitch the ball very fast.

Meteornoun

Any phenomenon or appearance in the atmosphere, as clouds, rain, hail, snow, etc.

‘Hail, an ordinary meteor.’;

Fireballverb

To attack with balls of fire.

Meteornoun

Specif.: A transient luminous body or appearance seen in the atmosphere, or in a more elevated region.

‘The vaulty top of heavenFigured quite o'er with burning meteors.’;

Fireballnoun

A ball filled with powder or other combustibles, intended to be thrown among enemies, and to injure by explosion; also, to set fire to their works and light them up, so that movements may be seen.

Meteornoun

A mass of stone or other substance which sometimes falls to the earth from space beyond the moon, burning up from atomospheric friction and creating a brilliant but usually very brief trail of light in the atmosphere; also called a shooting star.

Fireballnoun

A rare phenomenon often associated with or caused by lightning, resembling a luminous ball of fire passing rapidly through the air or along solid objects, then disappearing, and sometimes exploding. It seldom lasts more than a few seconds. Also called ball lightning, globe lightning, globular lightning, or kugelblitz.

Meteornoun

a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth's atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explode

Fireballnoun

A large mass of fire caused by a large explosion, as of inflammable liquids or a nuclear device. The larger fireballs, as of nuclear explosions, rise seemingly intact into the air and may reach high altitudes while still glowing.

Meteornoun

(astronomy) any of the small solid extraterrestrial bodies that hits the earth's atmosphere

Fireballnoun

an especially luminous meteor (sometimes exploding)

Fireballnoun

a highly energetic and indefatigable person

Fireballnoun

a ball of fire (such as the sun or a ball-shaped discharge of lightning)

Fireballnoun

the luminous center of a nuclear explosion