the Milky Way
noun
1
: a broad band of light that can be seen in the night sky and that is caused by the light of a very large number of faint stars
2
: the galaxy in which we live that contains the stars that make up the Milky Way
Examples of the Milky Way in a Sentence
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Also in the 1920s, Edwin Hubble, along with his assistant Milton Humason, began observing individual stars in galaxies beyond the Milky Way, enabling us to measure the distances to these nebulous objects.
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Big Think, 22 Oct. 2025
Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a colorful view of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), which is located some 6,000 light-years from Earth in the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
During the first billion years of the galaxy, the Milky Way essentially cannibalized many neighboring smaller galaxy-like systems.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Far out from the black hole, thousands to tens of thousands of light-years away, is a relatively normal galaxy not too different from the Milky Way.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2025
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Big Think, 22 Oct. 2025
Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a colorful view of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), which is located some 6,000 light-years from Earth in the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
During the first billion years of the galaxy, the Milky Way essentially cannibalized many neighboring smaller galaxy-like systems.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Far out from the black hole, thousands to tens of thousands of light-years away, is a relatively normal galaxy not too different from the Milky Way.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the Milky Way
Cite this Entry
“The Milky Way.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Milky%20Way. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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