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
The Leo Triplet is made up of the spiral galaxies M65, M66 and NGC 3628, which are located about 30 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo.
—
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 3 June 2026
Arcturus is 37 light-years away, or about 210 trillion miles, distant.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 31 May 2026
Despite being located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, M88 is a fairly bright object in the night sky.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 May 2026
At this speed, a journey of 10 light-years will take approximately 100 years to complete.
—Kai James, The Conversation, 26 May 2026
The vast Milky Way spans about 100,000 light-years and contains anywhere between 100 billion and 400 billion stars, according to NASA.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 23 May 2026
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 3 June 2026
Arcturus is 37 light-years away, or about 210 trillion miles, distant.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 31 May 2026
Despite being located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, M88 is a fairly bright object in the night sky.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 May 2026
At this speed, a journey of 10 light-years will take approximately 100 years to complete.
—Kai James, The Conversation, 26 May 2026
The vast Milky Way spans about 100,000 light-years and contains anywhere between 100 billion and 400 billion stars, according to NASA.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 23 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-years
Noun
-
Tacey Powers, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of shoes at Nordstrom, praised Adidas in a statement for its commitment to bringing the best of both worlds to the retailer’s customers.—
Stephen Garner,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
-
This particular chunk of space rock, known as NWA 12774, preserves an unusual chemical signature that suggests some of the solar system's earliest worlds developed differently from other rocky planets, researchers say.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
This is where constellations like Leo, Virgo and Coma Berenices host dozens of faint galaxies — most invisible to the naked eye and small optical-only telescopes, even in excellent conditions.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
6 June 2026
-
Scientists can draw on it to identify and study 100,000 exoplanets, hundreds of millions of galaxies, billions of stars, and rare objects and phenomena — including some that astronomers have never witnessed before.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Light-years.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-years. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
