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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
Both planets circle a red dwarf star, and one, known as LP 890-9c, might even be habitable.
—CBS News, 8 May 2024
The other two are Alpha Centauri B and the red dwarf Proxima Centauri.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
Three rocky planets orbited the red dwarf YZ Ceti, a cosmic stone’s throw away.
—Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2023
But eventually, all stars, including the red dwarfs, will come to an end.
—Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2023
Nevertheless, the worlds around Proxima Centauri might not be the most friendly to life; the star is a red dwarf, and those frequently throw out stellar flares and harmful radiation that could burn off a planet’s atmosphere and fry any alien microbes on the surface.
—Ramin Skibba, Wired, 27 Oct. 2021
But the discovery of a planet at least 13 times Earth's mass orbiting very close to a red dwarf only 11% of the sun's mass has astronomers going back to the drawing board on planetary formation theory involving this prevalent type of star.
—Fox News, 1 Dec. 2023
That’s well within the range of red dwarfs’ starlight.
—WIRED, 2 Oct. 2023
Back in 2015, the Kepler Space Telescope spotted a strange planet orbiting a red dwarf in the constellation of Leo, some 100 light years from Earth.
—Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red dwarf.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1926, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near red dwarf
Cite this Entry
“Red dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20dwarf. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
red dwarf
noun
: a star having much lower surface temperature, brightness, mass, and size than the sun
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