What is the difference between a meteor and meteorite?

A meteor is the streak of light you see in the sky when a space rock enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up due to friction, commonly called a shooting star. The rock itself is called a meteoroid while in space. A meteorite is what it's called if the object survives its fiery passage through the atmosphere and actually lands on Earth's surface. So the key distinction is simple: a meteor is the visible phenomenon in the sky, while a meteorite is the physical rock that makes it all the way to the ground.