as in worlds
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-years
What was intriguing about this was the fact that the TDE occurred around 10,000 light-years away from the center of this galaxy, where its supermassive black hole dwells.
—
Robert Lea, Space.com, 18 Feb. 2026
Situated some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis is a binary star system poised for a rare thermonuclear display.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2026
In the engineers who built a telescope that can see planets 13 billion light-years away.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2026
First glimpsed in some of JWST’s earliest images, LRDs remain one of the telescope’s biggest surprises—ruby-red objects that shine like a star but may reach up to 500 light-years in size.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026
The company has stripped away the complexity, allowing anyone to snap spectacular images of galaxies and nebulae hundreds of light-years away without wrestling with multi-component setups requiring serious technical chops – all wrapped in Vaonis's trademark minimalist design.
—New Atlas, 26 Jan. 2026
Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a middle-school teacher tapped for a mission to a solar system 12 light-years away to save humanity before a catastrophe wipes out Earth.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 24 Jan. 2026
Robert Lea, Space.com, 18 Feb. 2026
Situated some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis is a binary star system poised for a rare thermonuclear display.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 15 Feb. 2026
In the engineers who built a telescope that can see planets 13 billion light-years away.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2026
First glimpsed in some of JWST’s earliest images, LRDs remain one of the telescope’s biggest surprises—ruby-red objects that shine like a star but may reach up to 500 light-years in size.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026
The company has stripped away the complexity, allowing anyone to snap spectacular images of galaxies and nebulae hundreds of light-years away without wrestling with multi-component setups requiring serious technical chops – all wrapped in Vaonis's trademark minimalist design.
—New Atlas, 26 Jan. 2026
Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a middle-school teacher tapped for a mission to a solar system 12 light-years away to save humanity before a catastrophe wipes out Earth.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 24 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-years
Noun
-
Her fall 2026 lineup explored the emotional aftershock of moving between worlds.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Munson said Hablutzel took his work seriously, and cast his gaze at worlds far beyond the law.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The galaxies that are so familiar and ubiquitous in our Universe today will die, at least in a sense, as well.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Grillmair’s work had focused on uncovering the structure of the Milky Way, identifying faint stellar streams and substructures that make up the galactic halo surrounding our spiral galaxy, and helping reshape our understanding of how galaxies evolve, according to his website.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Light-years.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-years. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
