[me.te.or] n [ME, fr. MF meteore, fr. ML meteorum, fr. Gk meteoron, fr. neut. of meteoros high in air, fr. meta- + -eoros, fr. aeirein to lift] (15c) 1: an atmospheric phenomenon (as lightning or a snowfall)
2. a: any of the small particles of matter in the solar system that are directly observable only by their incandescence from frictional heating on entry into the atmosphere b: the streak of light produced by the passage of a meteor