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
The faraway galaxy creating the ring is more than 4 billion light-years away.
Gqlshare, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2025
It is tasked with observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2025
Now, the blue dwarf galaxy has fled 130,000 light-years away from its victim.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
Tracking changes in a black hole over time In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope announced the first direct image ever taken of a black hole at the center of an elliptical galaxy, Messier 87 (M87), located in the constellation of Virgo some 55 million light-years away.
—Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for light-year 
Gravity distorted the light from this more distant galaxy, thus the name honoring Albert Einstein.
—Gqlshare, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2025
It is tasked with observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2025
Now, the blue dwarf galaxy has fled 130,000 light-years away from its victim.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
Tracking changes in a black hole over time In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope announced the first direct image ever taken of a black hole at the center of an elliptical galaxy, Messier 87 (M87), located in the constellation of Virgo some 55 million light-years away.
—Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for light-year
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Cite this Entry
“Light-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/light-year. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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