galaxy

noun gal·axy \ ˈga-lək-sē \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

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 discovery is said to hint at a much larger population of black holes across the galaxy.

— deutsche welle, USA TODAY, "Scientists discover signs of a dozen new black holes in Milky Way," 4 Apr. 2018
To find where else in the galaxy the spark of life could occur, the trick might be to look for planetary systems that came from phosphorus-rich areas.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "To Find Life in Our Galaxy, Follow the Phosphorus," 4 Apr. 2018
In our neck of the galaxy, x-ray binary systems aren’t so common.

— sid perkins, Science | AAAS, "A swarm of black holes may be lurking in our galaxy’s heart," 4 Apr. 2018
Evidence of even a single microbe anywhere else in the galaxy would rock science.

— dennis overbye, New York Times, "Meet TESS, Seeker of Alien Worlds," 26 Mar. 2018
Discovering such regularity in galaxies really helps us to better understand the mechanics that make them tick.

— katherine hignett, Newsweek, "All Galaxies Rotate Every Billion Years Like Clockwork," 14 Mar. 2018
Such oases are one explanation for how snowball worlds might remain habitable—a result that could describe not just Earth but many of the planets astronomers are discovering across the galaxy.

— shannon hall, Scientific American, "Like Ancient Snowball Earth, Frozen Planets May Still Be Habitable," 13 Mar. 2018
Like, hey, what happened between the last one and this one, where the most hopeful man in the galaxy becomes a cranky old suicidal man telling people to get off his lawn?

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Mark Hamill on Skywalker disagreements, fear of starring in a new Star Wars film," 12 Mar. 2018
The Force is, & always will be strong with females here on Earth & in galaxies far, far away.

— natalie dreier, ajc, "Girl afraid to wear ‘Star Wars’ shirt gets support from Mark Hamill," 9 Mar. 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

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.