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
Though notoriously difficult to detect, even one particle can reveal impressive insights into cosmic events that occurred millions of light-years away.
—Jay Kakade
july 20, New Atlas, 20 July 2025
That leaves them light-years ahead of the Rays, who share Florida with the Miami Marlins, another team with attendance woes.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
The team also hoped to use the telescope's high resolution sensor to capture light from the remote Malin 1 galaxy, located roughly 1.2 billion light-years from Earth.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 18 July 2025
The newborn planetary system appears to be emerging 1,300 light-years away around a baby star known as HOPS-315 that resembles a young version of the Earth's own sun.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 18 July 2025
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Jay Kakade
july 20, New Atlas, 20 July 2025
That leaves them light-years ahead of the Rays, who share Florida with the Miami Marlins, another team with attendance woes.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
The team also hoped to use the telescope's high resolution sensor to capture light from the remote Malin 1 galaxy, located roughly 1.2 billion light-years from Earth.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 18 July 2025
The newborn planetary system appears to be emerging 1,300 light-years away around a baby star known as HOPS-315 that resembles a young version of the Earth's own sun.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 18 July 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 27 Jul. 2025.
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