as in world
a huge physical or conceptual distance
my sister and I are close in age, but personality-wise, there are light-years between us
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Recent Examples of light-year
These shards travel billions of light-years across the universe and slam into Earth’s atmosphere.
—
Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
What’s intriguing though is that these galaxies are over 50 million light-years away.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 3 May 2026
The nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, lies about 4.37 light-years away.
—New Atlas, 29 Apr. 2026
Astronomers can use telescopes to find specific molecules in the atmospheres of neighboring planets, in nebulae – clouds of interstellar dust and gas – hundreds or thousands of light-years away, or in galaxies beyond the far reaches of the Milky Way.
—Olivia Harper Wilkins, The Conversation, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026
What’s intriguing though is that these galaxies are over 50 million light-years away.
—Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 3 May 2026
The nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, lies about 4.37 light-years away.
—New Atlas, 29 Apr. 2026
Astronomers can use telescopes to find specific molecules in the atmospheres of neighboring planets, in nebulae – clouds of interstellar dust and gas – hundreds or thousands of light-years away, or in galaxies beyond the far reaches of the Milky Way.
—Olivia Harper Wilkins, The Conversation, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-year
Noun
-
Baker still admires much of the tech world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
-
And the 24 world doubles the difference.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Noun
-
One especially striking image features the galaxy rising above a sea of clouds in La Palma, creating an almost surreal scene.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
The small crew on board, armed with miniaturising technology of extraordinary sophistication, is on a mission to drain Earth’s water supply and sell it across the galaxy for profit.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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