white dwarf
noun
plural white dwarfs
: a small hot whitish star of low intrinsic brightness usually with a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but with a density many times larger
Examples of white dwarf in a Sentence
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Similar bright explosions may be produced not only by binary neutron star mergers, but also by mergers involving neutron stars and black holes, or even other types of compact stellar remnants such as white dwarfs, the leftover cores of Sun-like stars.
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Eleonora Troja, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2026
As this happens, the distant fourth star will undergo a similar process, creating the second white dwarf.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Finally, its now-inert core contracts down to form a white dwarf, while the prior ejecta get heated up and ionized, creating a planetary nebula.
—Big Think, 20 Feb. 2026
His favorites are recurrent novas — binary systems in which a massive white dwarf siphons so much material from its partner that its surface becomes dense enough and hot enough to undergo nuclear fusion, resulting in a dramatic increase in brightness at least twice per century.
—Liz Kruesi, Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2026
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Eleonora Troja, The Conversation, 10 Mar. 2026
As this happens, the distant fourth star will undergo a similar process, creating the second white dwarf.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Finally, its now-inert core contracts down to form a white dwarf, while the prior ejecta get heated up and ionized, creating a planetary nebula.
—Big Think, 20 Feb. 2026
His favorites are recurrent novas — binary systems in which a massive white dwarf siphons so much material from its partner that its surface becomes dense enough and hot enough to undergo nuclear fusion, resulting in a dramatic increase in brightness at least twice per century.
—Liz Kruesi, Quanta Magazine, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for white dwarf
Cite this Entry
“White dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20dwarf. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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