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
Arcturus is just about 37 light-years away, or about 214 trillion miles, and that’s considered a nearby star.
—
Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
The closest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri, is roughly 4.2 light-years away.
—Matthew Hutson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
Beyond distance, the counties are light-years away culturally and economically.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Primordial star formation Stars form when massive clouds of hydrogen many light-years across collapse under their own gravity.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
The closest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri, is roughly 4.2 light-years away.
—Matthew Hutson, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
Beyond distance, the counties are light-years away culturally and economically.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Primordial star formation Stars form when massive clouds of hydrogen many light-years across collapse under their own gravity.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-year
Noun
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Reigning world champion and 100-meter dash runner-up Sha'carri Richardson and Shericka Jackson will do their best to repeat their 2023 successes.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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After over a decade of running a members’ club in Mayfair, David Lorenz grew tired of the hospitality world.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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If not, then a spin or two around the galaxy later, and the sun will have grown bright enough, and the water cycle amplified enough as a result, that ramped up rock weathering will draw carbon dioxide so low that even grasses can’t hold on.—
Peter Brannen,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
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To be so bright, a galaxy would have to be loaded with stars at an impossible density.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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