galaxy

noun gal·axy \ ˈga-lək-sē \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

Examples: galaxy in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of galaxy

plural galaxies

1 a often capitalized : milky way galaxy —used with the

b : any of the very large groups of stars and associated matter that are found throughout the universe

2 a : an assemblage of brilliant or notable persons or things

a galaxy of artists

b : world 11

remained galaxies apart on the issue
—Newsweek

See galaxy defined for English-language learners

See galaxy defined for kids

Examples of galaxy in a Sentence

The event was attended by a galaxy of artists.
they're a galaxy apart when it comes to politics

Recent Examples of galaxy from the Web

The combination makes MeerKAT ideal for mapping hydrogen, the fuel of star and galaxy formation.

— daniel clery, Science | AAAS, "New radio telescope in South Africa will study galaxy formation," 19 June 2018
Ron-Ron’s sound — minimalist freeway-cruising music halfway between the galaxy of SoundCloud weirdos and the block-by-block specificity of L.A. street rap — has become one of the most important in hip-hop.

— august brown, latimes.com, "A farewell concert for 03 Greedo? While the courts decide, fans turn out for a big night of L.A. rap," 17 June 2018
Together the two galaxies are known as Arp 299 and are close to 150 million light-years from Earth.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Witness Aftermath of a Black Hole Destroying a Star," 15 June 2018
One possibility is that colonizing the galaxy is simply too costly.

— seth shostak /, NBC News, "If space aliens are out there, why haven't we found them?," 11 June 2018
Of course, there's always a chance LeBron goes galaxy brain and engineers moves none of us have even considered.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "The Summer of LeBron Offers More Intrigue Than the NBA Finals," 9 June 2018
With her meanness and cruelty, Barr just didn’t fit in in the Disney galaxy anymore.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Roseanne Barr: Banished from Disney’s World," 3 June 2018
Check out the galaxy’s most famous bucket of bolts in Solo: A Star Wars Story, in theaters now.

— mike miller, PEOPLE.com, "How Solo: A Star Wars Story Will Show the Millennium Falcon in All Its Glory," 29 May 2018
Godzilla director Gareth Edwards was hired to make Rogue One; Lord and Miller were brought on for Solo, promising the entry of some new genres and voices into the galaxy.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "Solo: A Star Wars Story is the safest, most forgettable Star Wars movie," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'galaxy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The system of stars that includes our sun looks, in the night sky, like a broad band of light. We call this band the Milky Way. The idea of the whiteness of the Milky Way being similar to that of milk is much older than the English language, however. Galaxias, the Greek word for the Milky Way, was derived from the Greek gala, “milk.” English galaxy, derived from Greek galaxias, was not used until the 19th century as a generic term for other star systems as well as the one in which we live.

Origin and Etymology of galaxy

Middle English galaxias, galaxie, borrowed from Late Latin galaxias, borrowed from Greek galaxías (probably originally conjoined with kýklos "wheel"), from galakt-, stem of gála "milk" (going back to Indo-European *glkt-, attested elsewhere only in Latin lact-, lac "milk," Armenian kat'n) + -ias, noun suffix, especially of natural phenomena

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

galaxy Synonyms

Other Astronomy Terms

gibbous, nadir, nebulous, penumbra, retrograde, sidereal, syzygy, wane, wax, zenith

GALAXY Defined for English Language Learners

galaxy

noun

Definition of galaxy for English Language Learners

astronomy : any one of the very large groups of stars that make up the universe
the Galaxy : the galaxy in which we live
: a large group of important or well-known people or things

GALAXY Defined for Kids

galaxy

noun gal·axy \ ˈga-lək-sē \

Definition of galaxy for Students

plural galaxies

1 : milky way galaxy

2 : one of the very large groups of stars, gas, and dust that make up the universe

History for galaxy

The band of light that crosses a clear night sky is caused by many faint stars. We call this band the Milky Way because it looks a bit like a stream of milk. The stars of the Milky Way belong to our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy. The idea that the Milky Way looks like milk is much older than the English language, however. The ancient Greek name for this star system, galaxias, was formed from the Greek word gala, “milk.” The English word galaxy was borrowed from the Greek name.