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
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Scientists have predicted that, for these systems, an accretion disk should still be formed, but it should be dragged toward the poles of these white dwarfs. Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Nov. 2025 The hypothesis was based on the taking of distance measurements to faraway galaxies using type 1a supernovae, stellar explosions that occur in twin star systems where one of the stars is a white dwarf. Ian Randall, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025 Another potential cause is a white dwarf — a dead star as heavy as our sun but condensed to the size of Earth — being ripped apart by a rare intermediate-mass black hole. Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025 Despite their diminutive size, white dwarfs are still extremely dense. Andrew Paul Aug 6, Popular Science, 6 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for white dwarf

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of white dwarf was in 1922

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Cite this Entry

“White dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20dwarf. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.

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

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