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
Recent Examples on the Web
That sounds ominous, but neutron stars do not typically form in pairs, so there is only one collision in the Milky Way about every 10,000 years.
—
Chris Impey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
Related article Scientists discover ‘staggering’ features in massive Milky Way star explosion
Gaia has already helped astronomers to determine when the Milky Way experienced different merger events in the past, and future observations could unlock more insights.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
What’s more, the galaxy also had a low mass, similar to a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way known as the Small Magellanic Cloud — which is still forming new stars.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024
Astronomers believe that the supermassive black holes found at the center of galaxies like the Milky Way grew to their current size over billions of years, according to the University of Cambridge.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
In short, the maps show not the Milky Way in static equilibrium, as researchers expected, but rather the galaxy's departure from it.
—Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
From things too small to see (washing my hands to get rid of any germs from the trash) from things almost too big to grasp (the Milky Way laid out above me, sprawling across the sky a hundred thousand light years wide).
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 13 Oct. 2010
Bright, innovative and with years of experience as an executive corporate chef, Phil was ready to work with the family to lead the Milky Way into a new era.
—Ethel G. Hofman, Sun Sentinel, 17 Jan. 2024
As part of the project, NASA combined telescope images from roughly 400 light-years of the Milky Way into a single picture.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2023
Chris Impey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
Related article Scientists discover ‘staggering’ features in massive Milky Way star explosion
Gaia has already helped astronomers to determine when the Milky Way experienced different merger events in the past, and future observations could unlock more insights.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
What’s more, the galaxy also had a low mass, similar to a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way known as the Small Magellanic Cloud — which is still forming new stars.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024
Astronomers believe that the supermassive black holes found at the center of galaxies like the Milky Way grew to their current size over billions of years, according to the University of Cambridge.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
In short, the maps show not the Milky Way in static equilibrium, as researchers expected, but rather the galaxy's departure from it.
—Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024
From things too small to see (washing my hands to get rid of any germs from the trash) from things almost too big to grasp (the Milky Way laid out above me, sprawling across the sky a hundred thousand light years wide).
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 13 Oct. 2010
Bright, innovative and with years of experience as an executive corporate chef, Phil was ready to work with the family to lead the Milky Way into a new era.
—Ethel G. Hofman, Sun Sentinel, 17 Jan. 2024
As part of the project, NASA combined telescope images from roughly 400 light-years of the Milky Way into a single picture.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the Milky Way.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the Milky Way
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“The Milky Way.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Milky%20Way. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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