Standard Lemma guide

lithocapture

noun · verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈlɪ.θoʊˌkæp.t͡ʃɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈlɪ.θəˌkæp.t͡ʃɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈlɪ.θoʊ.kæpˌt͡ʃɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈlɪ.θə.kæpˌt͡ʃɚ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlɪ.θoʊˌkæp.t͡ʃə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A form of lithobraking in which a spacecraft or other object on a hyperbolic trajectory inbound to a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body is decelerated by impact with the surface of the body.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, humorous, uncountable

Topics: aerospace, astronautics, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To perform lithocapture.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous

Topics: aerospace, astronautics, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From litho- (“pertaining to stone”) + capture, coined as a pun on aerocapture and lithobraking.