galaxy

noun

gal·axy | \ ˈga-lək-sē

plural galaxies

Definition of galaxy

1a 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

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

b : world sense 11 remained galaxies apart on the issue — Newsweek

Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about galaxy

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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.

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 on the Web

Luke and Junior and all the Force Ghosts toast over a pint of the strongest, manliest booze in the galaxy. — Scott Meslow, GQ, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," 22 June 2018 Oh well; that’s not the worst spoiler in the galaxy. — Yohana Desta, HWD, "Alden Ehrenreich Wants to Set the Record Straight About Solo Acting Coach Rumors," 24 Apr. 2018 Five billion light-years from Earth, a galaxy cluster sits between our planet and Icarus. — National Geographic, "This Is the Farthest Star Humans Have Ever Seen," 3 Apr. 2018 Meurer and his team used simple mathematics to show that, on average, galaxies of the same size have the same interior density. — Katherine Hignett, Newsweek, "All Galaxies Rotate Every Billion Years Like Clockwork," 14 Mar. 2018 These stories taught us about the incredible scale and power of distant objects in the universe, like a special type of galaxy called a blazar. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "10 science stories in 2018 that made us go, “Whoa, that’s awesome”," 18 Dec. 2018 What's more, the best theories available to astrophysicists suggest that this sort of galaxy shouldn't exist. — Rafi Letzter, Fox News, "This ancient 'monster' galaxy should have destroyed itself," 30 Aug. 2018 The most violent explosions known, supernovas can briefly outshine the rest of a galaxy. — Yvette Cendes, Discover Magazine, "Searching For Tonight’s Supernova," 17 Aug. 2018 For part of the galaxy, though, things are about to become much clearer. — The Economist, "For the first time, astronomers have a reliable map of the heavens," 26 Apr. 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.

History and Etymology for 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