: a celestial body that appears as a fuzzy head usually surrounding a bright nucleus, that has a usually highly eccentric orbit, that consists primarily of ice and dust, and that often develops one or more long tails when near the sun
Examples of comet in a Sentence
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Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits of broken asteroids.
—
Skyler Caruso, People.com, 5 May 2025
Astronomer Gianluca Masi also observed the comet twice using a telescope in Manciano, Italy.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
Like every Twain biographer, Chernow mentions Twain’s anecdote about being born when Halley’s comet brightened the sky.
—Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2025
Most meteor showers are the result of Earth passing through debris left by comets, explains NASA.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 6 May 2025
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Skyler Caruso, People.com, 5 May 2025
Astronomer Gianluca Masi also observed the comet twice using a telescope in Manciano, Italy.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 18 Apr. 2025
Like every Twain biographer, Chernow mentions Twain’s anecdote about being born when Halley’s comet brightened the sky.
—Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2025
Most meteor showers are the result of Earth passing through debris left by comets, explains NASA.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for comet
Cite this Entry
“Comet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comet. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
comet
noun
com·et
ˈkäm-ət 
: a bright heavenly body that develops a cloudy tail as it moves closer to the sun in its orbit
Etymology
Old English cometa "comet," from Latin cometa (same meaning), from Greek komētēs, literally, "long-haired," derived from komē "hair" — related to coma entry 2
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