Pluto

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The smallest and most distant former planet in our solar system, now classified as a dwarf planet
2. A celestial body in the Kuiper Belt, previously recognized as the ninth planet, that has since been reclassified as a dwarf planet due to its size and orbit characteristics
3. An icy, rocky object orbiting the sun, known for its complex geology and atmosphere, which was once considered the ninth planet in our solar system

Etymology: A planet's name became a verb in 2006, when the American Dialect Society named "pluto" its Word of the Year. The term was coined to mean to demote or downgrade, in reference to the demotion of the object once counted as the ninth planet. The word beat "climate canary" in the vote, which was the society's contest for the year's most notable new term. The object itself takes its name from the Roman god of the underworld.