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View synonyms for galaxy

galaxy

[ gal-uhk-see ]

noun

, plural gal·ax·ies.
  1. Astronomy.
    1. a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space.
    2. Often the galaxy or the Galaxy. the system of stars in which the earth and the sun are located; the Milky Way.
  2. any large and brilliant or impressive assemblage of people or things:

    Guests at the party included a whole galaxy of opera stars.



Galaxy

1

/ ˈɡæləksɪ /

noun

  1. the Galaxy
    the spiral galaxy, approximately 100 000 light years in diameter, that contains the solar system about three fifths of the distance from its centre Also known asthe Milky Way System See also Magellanic Cloud
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

galaxy

2

/ ˈɡæləksɪ /

noun

  1. any of a vast number of star systems held together by gravitational attraction in an asymmetric shape (an irregular galaxy ) or, more usually, in a symmetrical shape (a regular galaxy ), which is either a spiral or an ellipse Former namesisland universeextragalactic nebula galactic
  2. a splendid gathering, esp one of famous or distinguished people
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

galaxy

/ gălək-sē /

  1. Any of numerous large-scale collections of stars, gas, and dust that make up the visible universe. Galaxies are held together by the gravitational attraction of the material contained within them, and most are organized around a galactic nucleus into elliptical or spiral shapes, with a small percentage of galaxies classed as irregular in shape. A galaxy may range in diameter from some hundreds of light-years for the smallest dwarfs to hundreds of thousands of light-years for the largest ellipticals, and may contain from a few million to several trillion stars. Many galaxies are grouped into clusters, with the clusters themselves often grouped into larger superclusters.
  2. See more at active galaxySee also elliptical galaxy
  3. the Galaxy. The Milky Way.

galaxy

  1. A large, self-contained mass of stars .
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Notes

A common form for galaxies is a bright center with spiral arms radiating outward.
The sun belongs to the galaxy called the Milky Way .
The universe contains billions of galaxies.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of galaxy1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galaxie, galaxias, from Medieval Latin galaxia, galaxias, ultimately from Greek galaxías kýklos “the Milky Way”; cycle, galacto-
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Word History and Origins

Origin of galaxy1

C14 (in the sense: the Milky Way), from Medieval Latin galaxia, from Latin galaxias, from Greek, from gala milk; related to Latin lac milk
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Example Sentences

The newly imaged star, WOH G64, lies within the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the small galaxies that orbits the Milky Way.

Its attractive influence turned tiny differences in the amount of matter present in the early universe into the sprawling strands of galaxies we see today.

His vision seems to have been formed at the age when adolescents become enthralled by science fiction movies set in faraway galaxies — which isn’t to say that they can remain entertaining for adults, too.

I love a deep field image that shows the most distant galaxy cluster we've ever seen.

From Salon

Iran has a whole galaxy of allied heavily-armed militias around the Middle East, the so-called "Axis of Resistance".

From BBC

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galaxGalba