meteor

A bright streak of light that appears in the sky when a meteoroid is heated to incandescence by friction with the earth’s atmosphere.

A meteoroid or meteorite.

Any atmospheric phenomenon.

Specifically A transient fiery or luminous body seen in or through the atmosphere, usually in its more elevated region: a shooting-star. If it reaches the surface of the earth, it is called a meteorite, formerly aërolite, and also (very rarely) uranolite.

A small body moving in space, and of the same nature as those which become visible by encountering our atmosphere.

An abbreviation of meteorology, meteorological.

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 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.