meteoric
/ˌmiːtɪˈɒrɪk
/adjective
1Relating to meteors or meteorites: meteoric iron...
- At this early point in the history of the Solar System, meteoric bombardment was intense, and it would have continually opened new holes in the crust, immediately filled by magma.
- Heavy metal is siderion, something made of meteoric iron.
- In general, the Earth encounters richer meteoric activity during the second half of the year.
1.1(Of the development of something) very rapid: her meteoric rise to the top of her profession...
- But with their meteoric rise to fame, we'd better get used to being this week's Williamsburg, despite the rumour that they've already moved to New York.
- What isn't so typical, though, is the meteoric rise and subsequent slow decline of a man much imitated, never duplicated and unrivaled at his instrument.
- His meteoric rise did encounter a few setbacks and some bad investment decisions, but he has managed to bounce back with his latest creation in the soft toy line: a stuffed deer.
Synonyms
rapid, lightning, swift, fast, quick, speedy, breakneck, fast-track, accelerated, overnight, instant, whirlwind, mushrooming, sudden, spectacular;
momentary, fleeting, transient, ephemeral, evanescent, brief, short-lived
2 Geology Relating to or denoting water derived from the atmosphere by precipitation or condensation: leaching is thought to have been caused by meteoric water during uplift and exposure...
- These bones may have been reworked from previous depositional settings in contact with meteoric ground waters.
- It is thus apparent that the upper oolitic shoals were temporarily subaerially exposed, receiving meteoric water and probably allowing the formation of a lens of fresh water in the subsurface.
- These low 880 values represent precipitation from meteoric waters depleted in 180, or elevated temperatures during formation in burial settings.
Derivatives
meteorically
- A relation of my own who rose meteorically to the rank of matron had dispensed with all formal schooling when she was 14, but that was back in the early years of the state when by all accounts strange things happened.
- For one thing, the apparently rapid growth in high-tech sales was exaggerated by the fact that Indonesia's other export earners were shrinking even more meteorically.
- Worst affected was the wealth of those who saw their stock rise meteorically during the 1990s dot-com bubble.