interplanetary

adjective

in·​ter·​plan·​e·​tary ˌin-tər-ˈpla-nə-ˌter-ē How to pronounce interplanetary (audio)
: existing, carried on, or operating between planets
interplanetary dust
an interplanetary flight
interplanetary spacecraft

Examples of interplanetary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The films are based on Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel of the same name, which takes place in a future entrenched in interplanetary warfare. Stephanie Kaloi, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024 And this time, instead of swinging back to Earth once again, humankind has an opportunity to launch itself deeper into the solar system, establishing us even more as a spacefaring, possibly interplanetary, species. Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2024 As science fiction goes, the film rewrote the rules, leading with revolutionary visuals and its equally striking sound design, to the extent that those elements took precedence over the plot: an interplanetary battle for the galaxy’s rarest resource. Peter Debruge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024 Getting to the meat of the matter, Zubrin makes a case for shipping deuterium–a rare isotope of hydrogen–from Mars to Earth based primarily on its 4x abundance there and the assumption that Starship will reduce interplanetary freight-costs to $100/kg. Greg Autry, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 And thanks to Ingenuity’s dozens of flights, those future aircraft will leave Earth informed by a much better understanding about how interplanetary aerial missions can work. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2024 And many of these launches will be the Starship refueling tankers needed to make the interplanetary trip possible. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 4 Jan. 2024 When the 4-pound rotor craft performed its modest, debut takeoff and landing in the thin Martian atmosphere on April 19, 2021 – a flight of 39 seconds – it was hailed as an seminal feat of interplanetary aviation. Joey Roulette and Steve Gorman, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Jan. 2024 Although Ingenuity will never fly again, NASA engineers are already building its successors, including testing next-generation rotor blades at nearly the speed of sound in conditions mimicking those of interplanetary space. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'interplanetary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1691, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of interplanetary was in 1691

Dictionary Entries Near interplanetary

Cite this Entry

“Interplanetary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interplanetary. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

interplanetary

adjective
in·​ter·​plan·​e·​tary
ˌint-ər-ˈplan-ə-ˌter-ē
: between planets
interplanetary space
interplanetary travel

More from Merriam-Webster on interplanetary

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