What does bolide mean?
A bolide is an exceptionally bright meteor — a fireball produced when a piece of asteroid or comet debris slams into Earth's atmosphere at enormous speed. The word is used most often in astronomy and planetary science, where it denotes not just any shooting star but one intense enough to rival the Moon's brightness, frequently ending in an explosion, a sonic boom, or the fall of meteorites. The term entered English from French, ultimately tracing back through Latin to Greek roots meaning 'to throw'. Bolide gained wide public recognition after events such as the 1908 Tunguska airburst and the 2013 Chelyabinsk explosion over Russia, both classic examples of bolides whose shockwaves caused damage on the ground. Because the word is precise and evocative, it appears mainly in scientific reports and news coverage of spectacular fireball events rather than in casual conversation.
nounA large, bright meteor, especially one that explodes or produces a sonic boom as it passes through the atmosphere; in astronomy, more narrowly a fireball of exceptional brightness.
- A very bright meteor or fireball, especially one that explodes in flight or ends in a meteorite fall.
- (In planetary science) A fragment of an asteroid or comet, typically tens of meters to kilometers across, whose atmospheric entry produces such a fireball.
"The bolide streaked across the Siberian sky before detonating with the force of hundreds of Hiroshima bombs."
"Witnesses reported a blinding bolide splitting the night sky before the shockwave rattled every window in town."
"Infrasound stations detected the bolide's entry long before any eyewitness accounts reached the news."
Standard regular plural; used freely in astronomical literature.
"Surveys record dozens of significant bolides over Earth each year."
When astronomers say 'bolide', they mean the rare kind of fireball so violent it can shatter windows across an entire city — like the one over Chelyabinsk in 2013.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bolide
Bolide comes from French bolide, borrowed from Latin bolis ('a missile, a darting flame'), which itself derives from Greek bolis ('a thrown object'), built on the verb ballein, 'to throw'. This same Greek root gives us ballistic, parabola, and symbol. The word entered English in the mid-nineteenth century as astronomers sought a precise label for unusually brilliant, exploding meteors.
How bolide is actually used
Bolide is a technical term used mainly by astronomers and planetary scientists; it is uncommon in everyday speech, where people say fireball or shooting star. It carries no figurative or idiomatic uses and is essentially confined to scientific and journalistic contexts about meteors.
Easily confused with bolide
A bolide is the bright, often explosive fireball seen while a space rock is still in the air, whereas a meteorite is the surviving fragment that actually lands on Earth.