1
: a unit of length in astronomy equal to the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum or about 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers)
2
: an extremely large measure of comparison (as of distance, time, or quality)
seems like light-years ago
has light-years more talent
two minutes and yet light-years away from the crowded village—
Suzanne Patterson
Suzanne PattersonExamples of light-year in a Sentence
my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us
Recent Examples on the Web
So head outside just after dark, be patient, and enjoy the view of the planets, our close neighbors, in front of the stars behind them, which are many light-years distant.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
The scientists reached these findings while studying stellar motion in 30 UDGs in the Hydra galaxy cluster located over 160 million light-years away from us.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2025
These star-forming molecular clouds start off with a long, slow stretch — ultimately forming what astrophysicists describe as a filamentary structure about 0.3 light-years wide.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2025
In 2010 astronomers detected a gigantic gas cloud 31,000 light-years from Earth, on the other side of our galaxy.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
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.
Jamie Carter, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
The scientists reached these findings while studying stellar motion in 30 UDGs in the Hydra galaxy cluster located over 160 million light-years away from us.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 26 Feb. 2025
These star-forming molecular clouds start off with a long, slow stretch — ultimately forming what astrophysicists describe as a filamentary structure about 0.3 light-years wide.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2025
In 2010 astronomers detected a gigantic gas cloud 31,000 light-years from Earth, on the other side of our galaxy.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Articles Related to light-year
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light-year. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share