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
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Recent Examples of light-years
The spiral stretches nearly 2 million light-years from the cluster's center.
—
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 May 2026
Located 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus, the galaxy, called NGC 1266, is what’s known as a lenticular galaxy.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 19 May 2026
The magnifying glass The LAP1-B is 13 billion light-years away from Earth.
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 May 2026
Located 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus, the galaxy, called NGC 1266, is what’s known as a lenticular galaxy.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 19 May 2026
The magnifying glass The LAP1-B is 13 billion light-years away from Earth.
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-years
Noun
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Studios global rights to develop characters and worlds from Gripp’s full catalog.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
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Parents may not need the nightly news to remind them to locate their children anymore — there are apps for that now — but there are many ways for kids to feel unmoored, whether in analog or digital worlds.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Noun
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In Rubin’s first year alone, scientists expect the observatory to find 1 million undiscovered asteroids — as many as have been documented in the previous 200 years of human history — as well as thousands of comets and billions of stars and galaxies.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
15 May 2026
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And Rubin will discover much more than TNOs, too, by virtue of its emphasis on time-domain astronomy—the study of objects such as asteroids, novae, supernovae and active galaxies that move and vary in brightness.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Light-years.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-years. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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