spiral galaxy

noun

: a galaxy exhibiting a central nucleus or barred structure from which extend curved arms of higher luminosity

called also spiral nebula

Examples of spiral galaxy 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.
Billions of years ago, a young spiral galaxy began to grow in a crowded part of the universe. — Lisa Kewley, The Conversation, 14 May 2026 Messier 77 is also an active spiral galaxy with a disc rich in gas and dust, which both feeds and results from new star formation. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 10 May 2026 Also called the Southern Pinwheel, this spiral galaxy is a hotbed of star formation. — Marta Hill, Scientific American, 16 June 2026 The motions of stellar streams contain clues to how our barred spiral galaxy evolved over billions of years, including through collisions with other galactic realms. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spiral galaxy

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spiral galaxy was in 1913

Browse Nearby Words

spirale
spiral galaxy
spiral gear
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spiral galaxy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spiral%20galaxy. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on spiral galaxy

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about spiral galaxy

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All