galaxy

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noun gal·axy \ ˈga-lək-sē \

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

Textured, dimensional, the glittering galaxy of the Milky Way slowly revealed itself, a reminder of the vastness beyond our small, fragile planet.

— lynda v. mapes, The Seattle Times, "Nature’s gift to Washingtonians: some of the last, best stargazing in the world," 28 Aug. 2017
Simultaneously, the Hubble telescope has been spending time observing a pair of neutron stars in the galaxy NGC 4993, about 130 million light years away.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists May Have Spotted a New Kind of Gravitational Wave," 23 Aug. 2017
The universe is full galaxies and planets and suns.

— beth thames, AL.com, "If you didn't look up, did the eclipse still happen?," 23 Aug. 2017
Monday is a big day for the galaxy — a total solar eclipse.

— stella bugbee, The Cut, "The Cut Has a New Design," 20 Aug. 2017
Another spin-off will take the galaxy by storm; inside the Dirty Dancing lodge; saying Ctrl+Alt+Delete to Halt and Catch Fire.

— rebecca keegan, vanityfair.com, "Star Wars Decides the Force Is With Obi-Wan," 18 Aug. 2017
Madeleine Winer/Courier-Journal/USA TODAY Network David West Reynolds, a New Albany native, has visited a galaxy far, far away and wants to share it with you.

— madeleine winer, The Courier-Journal, "Hoosier archaeologist found the long lost 'Star Wars' sets. He wants your help to tell its story.," 14 July 2017
And Cara Delevingne attended the same event with a silvery bald head that was worthy of all the photos in the galaxy (and plenty of sweet imitations to boot).

— de elizabeth, Allure, "Draya Michele Wears Metallic Bun Hairstyle at the 2017 ESPY Awards," 12 July 2017
Some astronomers, suspecting trickery from the computation-minded Schawinski, asked outright: Were these real galaxies?

— science news staff, Science | AAAS, "AI is changing how we do science. Get a glimpse," 5 July 2017

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

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galaxy Synonyms

Synonyms

light-year, world

Related Words

country mile, long haul, way; infinity

Near Antonyms

hop, skip, and jump, shouting distance, stone's throw, striking distance; hair, hairbreadth (or hairsbreadth), inch

Other Astronomy Terms

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

GALAXY Defined for English Language Learners

galaxy

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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

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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.