TRITON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Triton mean? 

• TRITON (noun)
  The noun TRITON has 4 senses:

1. (Greek mythology) a sea god; son of Poseidon

2. the largest moon of Neptune

3. tropical marine gastropods having beautifully colored spiral shells

4. small usually bright-colored semiaquatic salamanders of North America and Europe and northern Asia

  Familiarity information: TRITON used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TRITON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Greek mythology) a sea god; son of Poseidon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

Greek deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Greeks)

Domain category:

Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The largest moon of Neptune

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

moon (any natural satellite of a planet)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Tropical marine gastropods having beautifully colored spiral shells

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("triton" is a kind of...):

seasnail (any of several creeping marine gastropods with a spirally coiled shell: whelks; tritons; moon shells; neritids)

Holonyms ("triton" is a member of...):

Cymatiidae; family Cymatiidae (tritons)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Small usually bright-colored semiaquatic salamanders of North America and Europe and northern Asia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

newt; triton

Hypernyms ("triton" is a kind of...):

salamander (any of various typically terrestrial amphibians that resemble lizards and that return to water only to breed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "triton"):

common newt; Triturus vulgaris (small semiaquatic salamander)

Notophthalmus viridescens; red eft (red terrestrial form of a common North American newt)

Pacific newt (any of several rough-skinned newts found in western North America)

eft (a newt in its terrestrial stage of development)

Holonyms ("triton" is a member of...):

family Salamandridae; Salamandridae (salamanders)

 Context examples 

Triton is slightly larger than Pluto, has a very similar internal density and bulk composition, and has the same low-temperature volatiles frozen on its surface.

(Voyager Map Details Neptune's Strange Moon Triton, NASA)

Triton's gravity would have torn up Neptune's original satellite system.

(Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon, NASA)

Many remember how Voyager 2's approach images of Neptune and its planet-sized moon Triton fueled anticipation of the discoveries to come.

(NASA Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Crosses Neptune's Orbit, NASA)

It's thought that the original satellite system was disrupted when Neptune captured its giant moon, Triton, and that these inner moons and rings formed from the leftover debris.

(NASA Finds Neptune Moons Locked in 'Dance of Avoidance', NASA)

Tholins have been found on other bodies in the outer solar system, including Titan and Triton, the largest moons of Saturn and Neptune, respectively, and made in laboratory experiments that simulate the atmospheres of those bodies.

(Pluto: The 'Other' Red Planet, NASA)

Voyager also discovered atmospheric plumes on Triton, making it one of the known active bodies in the outer solar system, along with objects such as Jupiter's moon Io and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

(Voyager Map Details Neptune's Strange Moon Triton, NASA)

There is a lot of speculation over whether Pluto will look like Triton, and how well they'll match up.

(NASA Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Crosses Neptune's Orbit, NASA)

Many billions of years ago, Neptune captured the large moon Triton from the Kuiper Belt, a large region of icy and rocky objects beyond the orbit of Neptune.

(Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon, NASA)

Because of the speed of Voyager's visit and the slow rotation of Triton, only one hemisphere was seen clearly at close distance.

(Voyager Map Details Neptune's Strange Moon Triton, NASA)

Scientists recently restored Voyager's footage of Triton and used it to construct the best global color map of that strange moon yet — further whetting appetites for a Pluto close-up.

(NASA Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Crosses Neptune's Orbit, NASA)