as in world
a huge physical or conceptual distance
my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of light-year
Astronomers have discovered a new celestial object, a compact radio beacon located in the galaxy NGS 4945, about 12 million light-years away.
—
New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2025
Primordial star formation Stars form when massive clouds of hydrogen many light-years across collapse under their own gravity.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
But thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers are gaining even more insights into the formation located about 3,400 light-years from Earth.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2025
An open cluster of stars about 445 light-years from the solar system, the Pleiades looks fabulous with the naked eye.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2025
Primordial star formation Stars form when massive clouds of hydrogen many light-years across collapse under their own gravity.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
But thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers are gaining even more insights into the formation located about 3,400 light-years from Earth.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2025
An open cluster of stars about 445 light-years from the solar system, the Pleiades looks fabulous with the naked eye.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-year
Noun
-
Jackson and his family plan to send details of the catch to the International Game Fish Association with the hopes of attaining world records in both the junior record for Atlantic halibut category as well as line class for all fish.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The inherent coexistence of these smart systems in our world is opening up more pressing concerns.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Those dark bands are vast dust lanes in the galaxy, blocking your view of stars behind. Can’t see the Milky Way and its dark bands?—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Scientists say the SPHEREx observatory, which became operational in May, will be able to get a wider view of the Milky Way galaxy – identifying objects of scientific interest that telescopes like Hubble and Webb can then study up close.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share