speed of light

noun phrase

: a fundamental physical constant that is the speed at which electromagnetic radiation propagates in a vacuum and that has a value fixed by international convention of 299,792,458 meters per second
symbol c

Examples of speed of light in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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When the black hole feeds on gas, the object unleashes particles in the form of wind or jets that move at nearly the speed of light, traveling up to thousands of light-years into space. Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 16 June 2026 At present, most large AI models tend to use thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs), constantly exchanging data at the speed of light. Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 13 June 2026 Astronomers have discovered a distant quasar — or active nucleus of a galaxy — that's powered by a feeding supermassive black hole blasting out winds at record-breaking speeds of 30% the speed of light, around 201 million miles (323 million kilometers) per hour. Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 June 2026 The organizations that win will not be those that provide more information, even at the speed of light. Joseph Coughlin, Forbes.com, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for speed of light

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of speed of light was in 1823

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Cite this Entry

“Speed of light.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speed%20of%20light. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

speed of light

: a fundamental physical constant that is the speed at which electromagnetic radiation travels in a vacuum and that has a value of 299,792,458 meters per second

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