Meteor vs. Meteoroid — What's the Difference?

A bright streak of light that appears in the sky when a meteoroid is heated to incandescence by friction with the earth's atmosphere. Also called falling star, meteor burst, shooting star.

A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are significantly smaller than asteroids, and range in size from small grains to one-meter-wide objects.

A meteoroid or meteorite.

A solid body, moving in interplanetary space, that is smaller than an asteroid and at least as large as a speck of dust.

(Archaic) Any atmospheric phenomenon, such as a rainbow, lightning, or snow.

(astronomy) A relatively small (sand- to boulder-sized) fragment of debris in a star system that produces a meteor when it hits the atmosphere

An atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. 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).

A small body moving through space, or revolving about the sun, which on entering the earth's atmosphere would be deflagrated and appear as a meteor.

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.

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

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

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

(figurative) Any short-lived source of wonderment.

(intransitive) To move at great speed.

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

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

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.

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

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