Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to the orbital revolution or axial rotation of a planetary or other celestial body that moves counterclockwise from west to east, in the same direction as most celestial bodies.
  • adjective Of or relating to orbital motion in the same direction as the predominant motion in an orbital system.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective astronomy Describing motion in a forward direction, especially with respect to other bodies in the same system
  • adjective geology Describing a metamorphic change resulting from a higher pressure or temperature

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[pro– + (retro)grade.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • When you upgrade to Wordie PRO, we call that a PROgrade. A subliminal message enables you to read this and countless other unimaginative portmanteaus without horking.

    October 31, 2008

  • The direction of orbit is known for roughly a dozen exoplanets (planets outside our solar system). This is the only example with a retrograde orbit. All others are prograde; they orbit in the same direction as the spin of their star.

    New exoplanet orbits 'backwards' (BBC, 12 August 2009)

    August 14, 2009