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
What was intriguing about this was the fact that the TDE occurred around 10,000 light-years away from the center of this galaxy, where its supermassive black hole dwells.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 18 Feb. 2026
Situated some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis is a binary star system poised for a rare thermonuclear display.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2026
An exoplanetary system about 116 light-years from Earth could flip the script on how planets form, according to researchers who discovered it using telescopes from NASA and the European Space Agency, or ESA.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 12 Feb. 2026
In the engineers who built a telescope that can see planets 13 billion light-years away.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2026
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Robert Lea, Space.com, 18 Feb. 2026
Situated some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis is a binary star system poised for a rare thermonuclear display.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2026
An exoplanetary system about 116 light-years from Earth could flip the script on how planets form, according to researchers who discovered it using telescopes from NASA and the European Space Agency, or ESA.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 12 Feb. 2026
In the engineers who built a telescope that can see planets 13 billion light-years away.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2026
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 21 Feb. 2026.
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