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Rotate vs Orbit - What's the difference?

rotate | orbit |

As verbs the difference between rotate and orbit

is that rotate is to spin, turn, or revolve while orbit is to circle or revolve around another object.

As an adjective rotate

is having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped.

As a noun orbit is

a circular or elliptical path of one object around another object.

rotate

English

Verb

(rotat)
  • to spin, turn, or revolve.
  • He rotated in his chair to face me.
  • to advance through a sequence; to take turns.
  • The nurses' shifts rotate each week.
  • (of aircraft) to lift the nose, just prior to takeoff.
  • The aircraft rotates at sixty knots.
  • to spin, turn, or revolve something.
  • Rotate the dial to the left.
  • to advance something through a sequence.
  • to replace older materials or to place older materials in front of newer ones so that older ones get used first.
  • The supermarket rotates the stock daily so that old foods don't sit around.
  • (of crops) to grow or plant in a certain order.
  • Synonyms

    * (to turn) revolve * (to make turn) circumvolve

    Derived terms

    * (l) * (l)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped.
  • a rotate''' spicule or scale; a '''rotate corolla
    English ergative verbs ----

    orbit

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A circular or elliptical path of one object around another object.
  • The Moon's orbit around the Earth takes nearly one month to complete.
  • A sphere of influence; an area of control.
  • In the post WWII era, several eastern European countries came into the orbit of the Soviet Union.
  • The course of one's usual progression, or the extent of one's typical range.
  • The convenience store was a heavily travelled point in her daily orbit , as she purchased both cigarettes and lottery tickets there.
  • (anatomy) The bony cavity containing the eyeball; the eye socket.
  • (physics) The path an electron takes around an atom's nucleus.
  • (mathematics) A collection of points related by the evolution function of a dynamical system.
  • Derived terms

    * *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To circle or revolve around another object.
  • The Earth orbits the Sun.
  • To move around the general vicinity of something.
  • The harried mother had a cloud of children orbiting her, asking for sweets.
  • To place an object into an orbit around a planet.
  • A rocket was used to orbit the satellite.

    Synonyms

    * (move around the general vicinity of) circumambulate, tag along * (place an object into an orbit) launch

    Derived terms

    * orbital

    See also

    * satellite * (wikipedia "orbit")