galactic

adjective

ga·​lac·​tic gə-ˈlak-tik How to pronounce galactic (audio)
1
: of or relating to a galaxy and especially the Milky Way galaxy
2
: huge
a galactic sum of money

Examples of galactic in a Sentence

a galactic serving of soda that would have been enough for three moviegoers
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
And don’t travel too far north; the galactic center is only visible below 55 degrees latitude—roughly Edmonton, Canada. Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 13 Feb. 2025 Looking toward the galactic center thus amounts to looking at a vast band of stars—which is what the Milky Way looks like to the naked eye in a very dark sky. Jeffrey Kluger/greenbelt, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025 Observations show Andromeda has a more active star formation history than the Milky Way, potentially due to a past galactic collision. Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025 This revealed that the galactic host of this FRB is extremely luminous and has a mass of around 100 billion times the mass of our sun. Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for galactic

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin galacticus (taken as derivative of Galaxias "Milky Way"), borrowed from Greek galaktikós "milky," from galakt-, gála "milk" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at galaxy

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of galactic was in 1839

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Cite this Entry

“Galactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galactic. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

galactic

adjective
ga·​lac·​tic gə-ˈlak-tik How to pronounce galactic (audio)
: of or relating to a galaxy

More from Merriam-Webster on galactic

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