light-year

noun

ˈlīt-ˌyir How to pronounce light-year (audio)
Definition of light-yearnext
as in world
a huge physical or conceptual distance my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of light-year The park feels light-years away from the closest major airport, Midland (235 miles away), and this seclusion ensures the park’s night views stay dazzling. — Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 23 Aug. 2026 Millions of light-years away, but because of that black thing Brit had come riding up the hill at dusk. — Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026 The enormous columns of gas and dust sit inside the Eagle Nebula, about 6,500 light-years away, and stretch roughly five light-years. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026 The celestial phenomenon, located in a galaxy roughly 115 million light-years from Earth, is the remnant of a dense ball of stars being slowly pulled apart by the gravity of its host galaxy. — Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for light-year
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-year
  1. world
  2. galaxy
Noun
  • With new digital imaging techniques, astronomers were able to spot a new and tiny world orbiting 4 billion miles beyond Neptune.
    — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Once these new worlds are spotted by Roman, the more powerful and sensitive Webb will take aim to fill in the blanks.
    — Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of world
Noun
  • The observatory's mission is to investigate dark energy, study galaxy formation and discover new exoplanets.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The state of any object, from an electron to a galaxy, can be captured by such a vector, pointing in some direction through such a Hilbert space.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of galaxy

Browse Nearby Words

lightweights
light-year
light-years
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Cite this Entry

“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on light-year

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about light-year

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