galaxy
Americannoun
plural
galaxies-
Astronomy.
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a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space.
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Often the galaxy or the Galaxy the system of stars in which the earth and the sun are located; the Milky Way.
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any large and brilliant or impressive assemblage of people or things.
Guests at the party included a whole galaxy of opera stars.
noun
noun
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Former names: island universe. extragalactic nebula. 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
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a splendid gathering, esp one of famous or distinguished people
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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.
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See more at active galaxy See also elliptical galaxy irregular galaxy lenticular galaxy spiral galaxy
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the Galaxy. The Milky Way.
Discover More
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.
Etymology
Origin of galaxy
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galaxie, galaxias, from Medieval Latin galaxia, galaxias, ultimately from Greek galaxías kýklos “the Milky Way”; cycle, galacto-
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To measure that speed, astronomers typically need to detect light from the merger or identify the galaxy where it occurred.
From Science Daily
These bright, elongated structures can strongly influence how galaxies grow and change over time.
From Science Daily
For generations, scientists have studied the stars and planets to better understand how our galaxy works.
From Science Daily
The Kuiper Belt itself is a relic of the early Milky Way, when the galaxy existed as a rotating disc of gas and dust.
From Science Daily
Most galaxies blaze with billions of stars, lighting up the universe across vast distances.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
