nova

1 of 2

noun (1)

no·​va ˈnō-və 

plural novas or novae ˈnō-(ˌ)vē 

-ˌvī

: a star that suddenly increases its light output tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity in a few months or years

novalike

ˈnō-və-ˌlīk 

adjective

nova

2 of 2

noun (2)

often capitalized

: cured and smoked salmon

especially : salmon that has been cured in a mixture of salt and sugar and smoked at a low temperature

Examples of nova in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Recorded live at the Lincoln Center, the band plays a bossa-nova take on the song while Gaga sings solo, wearing one of Cher’s own wigs. —Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025

To get a separate measure of how unusual this is, the researchers placed 8 million novas around the center of the galaxy, with the distribution being random but biased to match the galaxy's brightness under the assumption that novas will be more frequent in areas with more stars. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from New Latin, "newly visible star or nebula" (probably originally as ellipsis of nebula nova, later taken as ellipsis of stella nova "new star"), from feminine of Latin novus "new" — more at new entry 1

Noun (2)

short for Nova Scotia salmon

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1927, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1964, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing nova

• bossa nova

Rhymes for nova

• ova
• jehovah
• supernova
• villanova

Kids Definition

nova

noun

no·​va

ˈnō-və

plural novas or novae

-vē,

-ˌvī

: a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness and then within a few months or years grows dim again