Hvis et meteoroid træder ind i atmosfæren, bliver det kaldt en meteor og hvis det når jordoverfladen, kaldes den en meteorit. Strengt taget rammes Månen og andre atmosfæreløse himmellegemer derfor af meteoroider, selvom nedslagene kaldes for meteorkratere.
Rumdragter og rumfartøjer fremstilles til at beskytte mod mikrometeoroider, da de ikke er beskyttet af atmosfæren.
^RASC Asteroids FAQ Citat: "...As a general rule an object needs to be one kilometer or larger in diameter to be called an asteroid, although there is no formal agreement on that size. Some astronomers feel that we should include all objects 20 meters or larger in size since an object just 20 meters across travelling at cosmic speeds can invoke serious damage on the earth...Objects smaller than asteroids are called meteoroids..."
^Meteoroids, Asteroids, Comets Citat: "...Meteoroids are rocky bodies about 50 meters across or smaller whose impact with Earth is likely to deliver meteorite samples to the surface, but produce no impact crater...Asteroids, or minor planets, are rocky bodies larger than 50 meters across..."
^The Solar System Citat: "...Our new book contains, for the first time I have found it, some definition of the size break; under 100 meters is a meteoroid and over it is an asteroid..."
^Max. meteoroidestørrelse 1000km?: Asteroids Citat: "...Asteroids on a collision course with Earth are called meteoroids..." og lidt nede i denne side: The Solar System: Minor BodiesArkiveret 1. september 2006 hos Wayback Machine Citat: "...All known asteroids have diameters less than 1,000 km..."
^Max. meteoroidestørrelse 1000km?: Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids Citat: "...A meteoroid is a small object (below 1 km in diameter) in an independent orbit in the solar system..."