orb

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A spherical body; a sphere, especially one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star

   “In the small orb of one particular tear.”

   “Whether the prime orb, Incredible how swift, had thither rolled.”

2. (countable, uncountable)Celestial sphere; one of the azure transparent spheres conceived by the ancients to be enclosed one within another, and to carry the heavenly bodies in their revolutions
3. (countable, uncountable)A structural motif or finial in the shape of a sphere
4. (countable, uncountable)An orbit of an heavenly body

   “The schoolmen were like astronomers, which did feign eccentrics, and epicycles, and such engines of orbs.”

   “You seem to me as Dian in her orb.”

   “In orbs / Of circuit inexpressible they stood, / Orb within orb.”

5. (countable, rare, uncountable)The time period of an orbit

   “Know none before us, self-begot, self-rais'd / By our own quick'ning power, when fatal course / Had circl'd his full Orbe, the birth mature / Of this our native Heav'n, Ethereal Sons.”

6. (countable, poetic, uncountable)The eye, seen as a luminous and spherical entity

   “A drop serene hath quenched their orbs.”

   “Painfully, he forced his hot eyelids to unclose, and his distended orbs sought for some object whereon to fix; they met the patch of grass, yet red with the blood of Walter Maynard.”

7. (countable, poetic, uncountable)Any revolving circular body, such as a wheel

   “The orbs Of his fierce chariot rolled.”

8. (countable, rare, uncountable)A sphere of action.

   “By what fatality the orb of my genius […] acts upon these men like the moon upon a certain description of patients, it would be irksome to inquire”

   “But in our orbs we'll live so round and safe.”

9. (countable, uncountable)A globus cruciger; a ceremonial sphere used to represent royal or imperial power
10. (countable, uncountable)A translucent sphere appearing in flash photography (Orb (optics))
11. (countable, uncountable)A body of soldiers drawn up in a circle, as for defence, especially infantry to repel cavalry.
12. (uncountable)Amount of deviation from the closest perfect aspect.

    “For example, an approaching transitioning aspect (i.e., for 120 degrees) is effective when it remains within 2 degrees of orb on either side of the perfect angle.”

    “Astrologers' opinions vary on how many degrees of orb to allow for each aspect.”

    “For example Mars has its orb 7 degrees to the Sun.”

13. A blank window or panel.

    “small blank windows or panels, for in later times such panels were called orbs, blind windows”

14. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of object request broker.
15. (abbreviation, alt-of, historical, initialism)Initialism of operations record book (used by RAF).

verb

1. (poetic, transitive)To form into an orb or circle.

   “Let each His adamantine coat gird well, and each Fit well his helm, gripe fast his orbed shield”

   “a full-orbed sun”

   “And is it that the haze of grief ⁠Hath stretch’d my former joy so great? […] Or that the past will always win ⁠A glory from its being far; ⁠And orb into the perfect star We saw not, when we moved therein?”

2. (intransitive, poetic)To become round like an orb.
3. (poetic, transitive)To encircle; to surround; to enclose.

   “The wheels were orbed with gold.”