Milky Way

noun

1

: a broad luminous irregular band of light that stretches completely around the celestial sphere and is caused by the light of myriads of faint stars

2

: milky way galaxy

Examples of Milky Way in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are many, many stars in that area because the Double Cluster lies in the plane of our home Milky Way Galaxy and is teeming with stars. —Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2026

Some cosmic rays come from the sun, some from elsewhere in our Milky Way, and others, called extragalactic cosmic rays, trace their origins across vast distances to other galaxies. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 3 Apr. 2026

Milky Way™ Dietes is cold hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8b to 11. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2026

Many of the galaxies visible in spring lie in the direction of the Virgo Cluster and Coma Cluster, enormous collections of galaxies that together host thousands of members that rival our own Milky Way in scale and grandeur. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 14 Mar. 2026

Stargazing: How to see the center of our galaxy now that 'Milky Way season' is underway What is a planetary conjunction? —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 6 Mar. 2026

Stargazing: How to see our galaxy from Arizona now that 'Milky Way season' begins What is a planetary conjunction? —Eric Lagatta, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 2026

This Milky Way image, however, is like a top-down view of the entire city. —Asuka Koda, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026

Advertisement But our Milky Way is just one galaxy. —Richard Panek, Time, 25 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Milky Way

• aaa
• adonais
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

Kids Definition

Milky Way

noun

1

: a broad band of light that stretches across the sky and is caused by the light of a very great number of faint stars

2

: milky way galaxy