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

The center of this galaxy, the first and second arrondissements, has a dense molecular gravity in terms of historical interest: the Louvre, the Tuileries, the Place Vendôme, the Ritz. — Jay Mcinerney, Vogue, "Why, Oh Why Do I Love Paris? Jay McInerney Counted the Ways in a 1986 Story for Vogue, Republished Here in Solidarity With the French Capital, Where Notre-Dame Burned," 16 Apr. 2019 Technically, our own galaxy — the Milky Way — has never been officially named by the IAU, said Rick Fienberg, an astronomer and press officer for the American Astronomical Society. — Seth Borenstein, The Seattle Times, "Picture was clear, but black hole’s name a little fuzzy," 15 Apr. 2019 One Reddit user named FOOSLS claims to have seen an early storyboard where the events of the film take place five years after The Last Jedi and Kylo Ren rules the galaxy, with Rey, Leia, and Poe trying to stop The First Order. — Adam Schubak, Popular Mechanics, "Everything We Know So Far About 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'," 12 Apr. 2019 Just like Lucas’ films, which frame Anakin Skywalker and his progeny as the literal Chosen Ones, the single most important people in the galaxy, Crimes of Grindelwald falls into the exceptionalism trap. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the franchise’s Attack of the Clones when it should be The Last Jedi," 27 Nov. 2018 Season 3 sees the pair on adventures that range across various galaxies and levels of reality, also involving Morty’s parents and sister. — Jennifer Vineyard, New York Times, "The Best TV Shows and Movies New to Netflix, Amazon and More in June," 1 June 2018 And most can’t quite measure up to the bad guys from the Star Wars galaxy, including Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, "Solo’s Paul Bettany on Joining the Star Wars Universe and His Villain Dryden Vos," 3 May 2018 IceCube, a strange telescope made of deep glacial ice at the South Pole, has detected neutrinos from a distant, luminous galaxy. — Mark Bowen, Scientific American, "Neutrinos on Ice: Astronomers' Long Hunt for Source of Extragalactic "Ghost Particles" Pays Off," 12 July 2018 Two years ago, a team of scientists used an incredibly advanced telescope to observe two neutron stars in a distant galaxy colliding together in a super explosion. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Two Neutron Stars Exploded in Our Cosmic Backyard Billions of Years Ago," 3 May 2019

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