1
: a unit of length in astronomy equal to the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum or about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers)
2
: an extremely large measure of comparison (as of distance, time, or quality)
seems like light-years ago
has light-years more talent
two minutes and yet light-years away from the crowded village—
Suzanne Patterson
Suzanne PattersonExamples of light-year in a Sentence
my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us
Recent Examples on the Web
The bubble-like form of the Garlic Nebula lies within the Milky Way some 9,132 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Located about 162 light-years away from Earth, β CMi is encompassed by a disk of hydrogen moving incredibly fast.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
However, while real stars are massive, glowing balls of gas located light-years away from Earth, meteors are usually just tiny bits of rock or dust—often no bigger than a grain of sand—that come from comets or asteroids.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
That fuzzy little patch is our Milky Way Galaxy’s next-door neighbor, over 2 million light-years away, with just one light year equaling almost 6 trillion miles.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
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Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Located about 162 light-years away from Earth, β CMi is encompassed by a disk of hydrogen moving incredibly fast.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
However, while real stars are massive, glowing balls of gas located light-years away from Earth, meteors are usually just tiny bits of rock or dust—often no bigger than a grain of sand—that come from comets or asteroids.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
That fuzzy little patch is our Milky Way Galaxy’s next-door neighbor, over 2 million light-years away, with just one light year equaling almost 6 trillion miles.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light-year. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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