red dwarf

noun

: a star having substantially lower surface temperature, intrinsic luminosity, mass, and size than the sun

Examples of red dwarf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The planet is huge; the star is tiny, a red dwarf only 20 percent the mass of our own sun. Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 27 June 2025 Such large worlds are, however, rarely found around the smallest stars, red dwarfs. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 June 2025 About the size of Saturn, the new world is circling a red dwarf star about 111 light-years away. Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025 But Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star, with just a fraction of the sun's brightness and size. Paul Sutter, Space.com, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for red dwarf

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of red dwarf was in 1926

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Cite this Entry

“Red dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20dwarf. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

red dwarf

noun
: a star having much lower surface temperature, brightness, mass, and size than the sun

More from Merriam-Webster on red dwarf

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