bolide vs meteor

bolide

noun
  • An extremely bright meteor. 

  • A fireball. 

  • Any extraterrestrial body that collides with Earth. 

meteor

noun
  • A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or falling star. 

  • An atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors (hydrometeors: clouds, rain, snow, hail, dew, frost), luminous meteors (rainbows and aurora), and igneous or fiery meteors (lightning and shooting stars). 

  • A prop similar to poi balls, in that it is twirled at the end of a cord or cable. 

  • A striking weapon resembling a track and field hammer consisting of a weight swung at the end of a cable or chain. 

  • Any short-lived source of wonderment. 

verb
  • To move at great speed. 

How often have the words bolide and meteor occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )