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
When staring at twin suns like from much greater distances — many light-years away — astronomers have a much tougher time than young Skywalker in determining two stars from one.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 June 2025
Virgo contains the Virgo Cluster, a group of galaxies about 54 million light-years from the Milky Way.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
The mystery object, located just a short 15,000 light-years from Earth in our Milky Way galaxy, revealed itself to an international team of scientists when it was observed emitting startling pulses.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 31 May 2025
The stars that make up the locks are about 250 light-years away, just down the celestial block from us.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 25 May 2025
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Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 June 2025
Virgo contains the Virgo Cluster, a group of galaxies about 54 million light-years from the Milky Way.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
The mystery object, located just a short 15,000 light-years from Earth in our Milky Way galaxy, revealed itself to an international team of scientists when it was observed emitting startling pulses.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 31 May 2025
The stars that make up the locks are about 250 light-years away, just down the celestial block from us.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 25 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light-year. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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