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
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Recent Examples of light-year
Located 140 light-years away from Earth, the planet, named BD+05 4868 Ab, has approximately the same mass as Mercury—but its orbit around its host star is around 20 times closer than Mercury’s path around our sun.
—
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a pillar of cold gas and dust 9.5 light-years tall is unfurling along the length of the new image.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
Since it was discovered in 2015, K2-18b, which orbits a red dwarf star more than 120 light-years from Earth, has captivated scientists who have considered it among the best potential life-harboring ocean worlds.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have detected what may be signs of life on a planet 124 light-years away: chemical signatures of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, which on Earth are only produced by microbes like plankton in the ocean.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a pillar of cold gas and dust 9.5 light-years tall is unfurling along the length of the new image.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Apr. 2025
Since it was discovered in 2015, K2-18b, which orbits a red dwarf star more than 120 light-years from Earth, has captivated scientists who have considered it among the best potential life-harboring ocean worlds.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have detected what may be signs of life on a planet 124 light-years away: chemical signatures of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, which on Earth are only produced by microbes like plankton in the ocean.
—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-year
Noun
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During her years in the professional fighting world, she was lured into the ring on more than one occasion.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
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The changes have so far earned a stamp of approval from MCU studio honchos, who reportedly were looking for Schreier to shake things up in the Marvel movie world.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Second, there was a time, within the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang, before stars and galaxies had even formed.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 Apr. 2025
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Humans have given only a handful of these galaxies catchy nicknames.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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