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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of light-year
Betelgeuse is approximately 600 light-years from Earth, and is dying a slow death that someday will turn extremely violent!
—
Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
One standout target to try locating is the Orion Nebula, a nearby stellar hotspot located 1,350 light-years away and one of the easiest deep-sky objects to spot without a telescope.
—Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 1 Jan. 2026
Alien debate Scientists claimed to have found signs of life on a planet called K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years from Earth, according to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in April.
—Devika Rao, TheWeek, 31 Dec. 2025
Trying to wrap one’s mind around the scale of civic destruction wrought in just 11 months stretches the limits of the imagination, like conceptualizing light-years or black holes.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for light-year
Recent Examples of Synonyms for light-year
Noun
-
Wrought Studio Lawandra Modern Upholstered Swivel Storage Chair To the naked eye, this may seem like a typical upholstered chair, but there’s one sneaky detail that makes a world of difference.—
-
The Sassanid Persian coins reflect the far-reaching ties that China had with the known world.—
Noun
-
By fictionalizing him as a real spaceman visiting new galaxies in each era of his career, Cordell brings young readers into the magic and wonder of Bowie’s life.—
-
Several sessions will showcase new results from surveys that combine data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, offering fresh insights into how galaxies formed and evolved in the early universe.—
Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share