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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All of the material shown here is gravitationally bound together, both within the Milky Way itself and beyond it as part of the greater Local Group.
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Big Think, 27 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
Simulating the Milky Way The Milky Way today is a relatively closed system, meaning not many materials come in or out.
—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, 27 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
Simulating the Milky Way The Milky Way today is a relatively closed system, meaning not many materials come in or out.
—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 1 Nov. 2025.
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