1
: a unit of length in astronomy equal to the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum or about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers)
2
: an extremely large measure of comparison (as of distance, time, or quality)
seems like light-years ago
has light-years more talent
two minutes and yet light-years away from the crowded village—
Suzanne Patterson
Suzanne PattersonExamples of light-year in a Sentence
my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us
Recent Examples on the Web
Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a colorful view of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), which is located some 6,000 light-years from Earth in the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
That fuzzy little patch is our Milky Way Galaxy’s next-door neighbor, over 2 million light-years away, with just one light year equaling almost 6 trillion miles.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
The jets can flow for hundreds of thousands of light-years in some cases, extending well outside the galaxy itself.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2025
The citizen science team also spotted two additional odd radio circles in two different galaxies, including one located at the end of a powerful jet that has a sharp curve, resulting in a radio ring about 100,000 light-years wide.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
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.
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
That fuzzy little patch is our Milky Way Galaxy’s next-door neighbor, over 2 million light-years away, with just one light year equaling almost 6 trillion miles.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
The jets can flow for hundreds of thousands of light-years in some cases, extending well outside the galaxy itself.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2025
The citizen science team also spotted two additional odd radio circles in two different galaxies, including one located at the end of a powerful jet that has a sharp curve, resulting in a radio ring about 100,000 light-years wide.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light-year. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share