Definitions for Galaxy
ˈgæl ək sigal·axy

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. galaxynoun

   a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)

2. galax, galaxy, wandflower, beetleweed, coltsfoot, Galax urceolatanoun

   tufted evergreen perennial herb having spikes of tiny white flowers and glossy green round to heart-shaped leaves that become coppery to maroon or purplish in fall

3. galaxy, extragalactic nebulanoun

   (astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and dust

   "`extragalactic nebula' is a former name for `galaxy'"

GCIDERate this definition:3.8 / 4 votes

1. Galaxynoun

   A very large collection of stars comparable in size to the Milky Way system, held together by gravitational force and separated from other such star systems by large distances of mostly empty space. Galaxies vary widely in shape and size, the most common nearby galaxies being over 70,000 light years in diameter and separated from each other by even larger distances. The number of stars in one galaxy varies, and may extend into the hundreds of billions.

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.3 / 3 votes

1. galaxynoun

   The Milky Way; the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth.

2. galaxynoun

   Any of the collections of many millions of stars, galactic dust, black holes, etc. existing as independent and coherent systems, of which there are billions in the known universe.

3. Galaxynoun

   the Milky Way Galaxy, from when it was thought the Universe (our universe) had only one galaxy

4. Etymology: From galaxie, from galaxias, from γαλαξίας, from γάλα.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Galaxynoun

   The milky way; a stream of light in the sky.

   Etymology: γαλαξία; galaxie, Fr.

   A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold,
   And pavement stars, as stars to thee appear,
   Seen in the galaxy. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. vii.

   A brown, for which heaven would disband
   The galaxy, and stars be tann’d. John Cleveland.

   Men doubt, because they stand so thick i’ th’ sky,
   If those be stars that paint the galaxy. Abraham Cowley.

   We dare not undertake to shew what advantage is brought to us by those innumerable stars in the galaxy. Richard Bentley, Serm.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Galaxy

   A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek galaxias (γαλαξίας), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. Galaxies, averaging an estimated 100 million stars, range in size from dwarfs with less than a hundred million stars, to the largest galaxies known – supergiants with one hundred trillion stars, each orbiting its galaxy's center of mass. Most of the mass in a typical galaxy is in the form of dark matter, with only a few percent of that mass visible in the form of stars and nebulae. Supermassive black holes are a common feature at the centres of galaxies. Galaxies are categorized according to their visual morphology as elliptical, spiral, or irregular. Many are thought to have supermassive black holes at their centers. The Milky Way's central black hole, known as Sagittarius A*, has a mass four million times greater than the Sun. As of March 2016, GN-z11 is the oldest and most distant galaxy observed. It has a comoving distance of 32 billion light-years from Earth, and is seen as it existed just 400 million years after the Big Bang. In 2016, using 20 years of images from the Hubble space telescope, it was estimated that there were in total two trillion (2×1012) or more galaxies in the observable universe, and as many as an estimated 1×1024 stars (more stars than all the grains of sand on all beaches of the planet Earth).In 2021, data from NASA's New Horizons space probe was used to revise the earlier estimate to roughly 200 billion galaxies (2×1011),Most galaxies are 1,000 to 100,000 parsecs in diameter (approximately 3,000 to 300,000 light years) and are separated by distances on the order of millions of parsecs (or megaparsecs). For comparison, the Milky Way has a diameter of at least 26,800 parsecs (87,400 ly) and is separated from the Andromeda Galaxy (with diameter of about 152,000 ly), its nearest large neighbor, by 780,000 parsecs (2.5 million ly.) The space between galaxies is filled with a tenuous gas (the intergalactic medium) with an average density of less than one atom per cubic meter. Most galaxies are gravitationally organized into groups, clusters and superclusters. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group, which it dominates along with Andromeda Galaxy. The group is part of the Virgo Supercluster. At the largest scale, these associations are generally arranged into sheets and filaments surrounded by immense voids. Both the Local Group and the Virgo Supercluster are contained in a much larger cosmic structure named Laniakea.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Galaxynoun

   the Milky Way; that luminous tract, or belt, which is seen at night stretching across the heavens, and which is composed of innumerable stars, so distant and blended as to be distinguishable only with the telescope. The term has recently been used for remote clusters of stars

2. Galaxynoun

   a splendid assemblage of persons or things

3. Etymology: [F. galaxie, L. galaxias, fr. Gr. (sc. circle), fr. , , milk; akin to L. lac. Cf. Lacteal.]

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Galaxy

   A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and, dark matter, an important but poorly understood component. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias, literally "milky", a reference to the Milky Way. Examples of galaxies range from dwarfs with as few as ten million stars to giants with a hundred trillion stars, each orbiting their galaxy's own center of mass. Galaxies contain varying numbers of star systems, star clusters and types of interstellar clouds. In between these objects is a sparse interstellar medium of gas, dust, and cosmic rays. Supermassive black holes reside at the center of all galaxies. They are thought to be the primary driver of active galactic nuclei found at the core of some galaxies. The Milky Way galaxy is known to harbor at least one such object. Galaxies have been historically categorized according to their apparent shape, usually referred to as their visual morphology. A common form is the elliptical galaxy, which has an ellipse-shaped light profile. Spiral galaxies are disk-shaped with dusty, curving arms. Those with irregular or unusual shapes are known as irregular galaxies and typically originate from disruption by the gravitational pull of neighboring galaxies. Such interactions between nearby galaxies, which may ultimately result in a merger, sometimes induce significantly increased incidents of star formation leading to starburst galaxies. Smaller galaxies lacking a coherent structure are referred to as irregular galaxies.¹¹

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Galaxy

   gal′ak-si, n. the Milky-Way, or the luminous band of stars stretching across the heavens: any splendid assemblage. [Through Fr. and L., from Gr. galaxias—gala, milk.]

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Galaxy

   the Milky Way, a band of light seen after sunset across the heavens, consisting of an innumerable multitude of stars, or suns rather, stretching away into the depths of space.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. galaxy

   A name of the Milky Way. (See VIA LACTEA.)

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. galaxy

   A group of stars.

   The galaxy is so beautiful.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 3, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. galaxy

   Song lyrics by galaxy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by galaxy on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Collection
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How to pronounce Galaxy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Galaxy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Galaxy in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Galaxy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of Galaxy in a Sentence

1. Massimiliano Galeazzi:

   The first source is located outside our solar system and is generated by remnants of multiple supernovae explosions forming what is now called the Local Hot Bubble region of our galaxy, the second source is within the solar system and is generated by the solar wind charge exchange.

2. The LA Galaxy:

   We are committed to assembling the best roster that will compete for championships year in and year out, giovani is yet another testament to that effort by Mr. Anschutz and our ownership group, who have continued to provide every resource for us to win. We're proud to add Giovani to a list of great players who have represented The LA Galaxy.

3. Martin Rees:

   The study of exoplanets is perhaps the most vibrant field of astronomy, we now know that most stars are orbited by retinues of planets; there may be a billion planets in our galaxy resembling the Earth.

4. Christopher Robinson:

   I had been thinking about this, but it's already happened in the future, it's happening now. I don't have a ring, but I do have a big rock. Will you stay with me until the last star in the last galaxy burns out and even after that ? Amanda Marie Knox, will you marry me ?

5. Professor Brown:

   For decades radio interferometry has been done at centimetre wavelengths using telescopes spread across continents, however, if you do the same observations at millimetre wavelengths then you canproduce images with better resolution, and see (in silhouette) the black hole at the centre of our galaxy.

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