brown dwarf

noun

Synonyms of brown dwarfnext
: a celestial object that is much smaller than a normal star and has insufficient mass to sustain nuclear fusion but that is hot enough to radiate energy especially at infrared wavelengths

Examples of brown dwarf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Such are the strange semantic questions raised by studies of CD-35 2722 B, a brown dwarf with about 30 times the mass of Jupiter that’s orbiting a small star that is some 73 light-years from Earth in the system CD-35 2722. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 22 July 2026 Instead Hoy and his colleagues used the radial velocity method to look for wobbles in the brown dwarf. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 22 July 2026 Orbiting this star is a brown dwarf, which is a type of gas giant that is larger than a planet, yet smaller than a star. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 July 2026 The brown dwarf creates gravitational instability at distances equivalent to the distance between Mars and the sun, but this didn't prevent planets from forming in the system. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for brown dwarf

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of brown dwarf was in 1975

Rhymes for brown dwarf

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Browse Nearby Words

brown duck
brown dwarf
Browne
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Cite this Entry

“Brown dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brown%20dwarf. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

brown dwarf

noun
: an object in space that is much smaller and dimmer than a normal star
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