Milky Way

noun

1
: a broad luminous irregular band of light that stretches completely around the celestial sphere and is caused by the light of myriads of faint stars
2

Examples of Milky Way in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
New studies are skeptical Milky Way will be visible in May, over Memorial Day weekend, across US: When to see our galaxy The team’s findings were published Wednesday, June 4, in the journal Science Advances. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 6 June 2025 How to view a vibrant Milky Way Galaxy Stargazers will soon be able to witness a dazzling celestial sight composed of billions of stars. Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025 Dark matter pinwheels Galaxies like our Milky Way are famous for their sparkling spiral arms, dotted with diamond-like stars and full of glowing gas and dusty tendrils. Stephen Clark – Jun 6, ArsTechnica, 6 June 2025 What this means, practically, is that many stars, nebulae and galaxies (and that includes our Milky Way) are much harder to see in humid air. A.k. Whitney, Oc Register, 4 June 2025 Related: The faintest star system orbiting our Milky Way may be dominated by dark matter The new study found that instead of scattering, the filaments can lock in with each other and enhance themselves. Paul Sutter, Space.com, 20 May 2025 Binary systems are common in our Milky Way galaxy — about two-thirds of all stars (and brown dwarfs) are found in binary systems. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 May 2025 The image contains a striking number of cosmic objects, ranging from stars within our own Milky Way galaxy, marked by diffraction spikes, to galaxies located billions of light-years away that serve as relics of the early universe. Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 May 2025 Our own Milky Way Galaxy has a spiral-arm structure. Amanda Kooser, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Milky Way was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Milky Way.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Milky%20Way. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

Milky Way

noun
1
: a broad band of light that stretches across the sky and is caused by the light of a very great number of faint stars
2
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