white dwarf

noun

plural white dwarfs
: a small hot whitish star of low intrinsic brightness usually with a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but with a density many times larger

Examples of white dwarf in a Sentence

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.
After the nova, the white dwarf returns to its normal size, and starts the process all over again. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024 But the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting a white dwarf—the stage of stellar evolution that follows a red giant—provides evidence that survival is a possibility, researchers reported last week in Nature Astronomy. Christie Wilcox, science.org, 30 Sep. 2024 Such white dwarf stars are the hot, glowing stellar cores left behind when dying sunlike stars blow off their outer layers. Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2024 Scientists are hoping to study the nova to discover what happens when the material is blasted from the white dwarf and distributed into neighboring galaxies, Boyd said. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for white dwarf 

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of white dwarf was in 1922

Dictionary Entries Near white dwarf

Cite this Entry

“White dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20dwarf. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

white dwarf

noun
: a small whitish star of low brightness that has a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but that is many times more dense

More from Merriam-Webster on white dwarf

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!