white dwarf

noun

plural white dwarfs

: a small hot whitish star of low intrinsic brightness usually with a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but with a density many times larger

Examples of white dwarf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Crucially, the white dwarf is not destroyed, and the 80-year-long process begins again. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025

The object could be a white dwarf—an Earth-sized husk that remains after a star has exhausted its nuclear fuel. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 30 May 2025

The most likely scenario is a Type Ia supernova, which occurs in binary star systems in which a white dwarf consumes enough mass of its companion star to explode violently. —Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 29 May 2025

Now, thanks to Webb, the rings—which are likely composed of small dust grains, heated by ultraviolet light from a white dwarf star—can be seen clearly. —Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for white dwarf

• polymorph
• morph
• orf
• wharf

Kids Definition

white dwarf

noun

: a small whitish star of low brightness that has a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but that is many times more dense