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• light-year
  light-year

  noun

  the distance traversed by light in one mean solar year, about 5.88 trillion mi. (9.46 trillion km): used as a unit in measuring stellar distances. lt-yr
• light year
  light year

  noun

  a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to the distance travelled by light in one year, i.e. 9.4607 × 10 ¹² kilometres or 0.3066 parsecs

light-year

American  

[lahyt-yeer, -yeer] / ˈlaɪtˌjɪər, -ˈjɪər /

noun

• light-years
  plural

1. Astronomy. the distance traversed by light in one mean solar year, about 5.88 trillion mi. (9.46 trillion km): used as a unit in measuring stellar distances. lt-yr

2. light-years,

   1. a very great distance, especially in development or progress.

      The new computer is light-years ahead of the old one.

   2. a very long time.

      It's been light-years since I've seen my childhood friends.

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light year British  

noun

1. a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to the distance travelled by light in one year, i.e. 9.4607 × 10 ¹² kilometres or 0.3066 parsecs

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light-year Scientific  

1. The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year, equal to about 9.46 trillion km (5.88 trillion mi). Light-years are used in measuring interstellar and intergalactic distances.

2. Compare astronomical unit parsec

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light year Cultural  

1. The distance traveled by light in a year (over five trillion miles); a unit for measuring distances outside the solar system. The star nearest to our sun, Alpha Centauri, is more than four light years away.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• light-years
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of light-year

First recorded in 1885–90

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Compare meaning

How does light-year compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• astronomical unit vs. light-year

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

light-year light year light-years

A light-year, which equals approximately 5.88 trillion miles, measures the distance light travels in one year.

From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026

The entire image is about half a light-year across, or 4.7tn km.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2023

Goldfish by the ton, aphids by the light-year.

From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2023

Though that is extremely close in astronomy terms, there are 5.88 trillion miles in one light-year.

From Salon ● Feb. 16, 2023

Even though Thomas was a light-year, or about six trillion and one miles away, somehow it just felt right to start my fundraising here.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

One light year is 5.88 trillion miles, so “there’s quite a difference between the two. Yet, there’s the planet, superimposed over the star cluster.”

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2022

Southern Ring Nebula Another spellbinding nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula looks like a giant turquoise ring in the night sky, one that actually spans half a light year wide.

From The Verge ● Jul. 12, 2022

Their expectations for the upcoming season are about a light year apart.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2022

Maybe a light year will have been a good thing and all will be well?

From Washington Post ● Jun. 29, 2021

Lining up the path of the projectile accurately, he then projected himself forward in that exact line, with a flat detector-screen thrown out for half a light year upon each side of him.

From Skylark Three by Hans Waldemar Wessolowski

The third is much farther out, approximately 5,500 light-years from the center.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

Astronomers have discovered three actively feeding supermassive black holes in a single galaxy more than 12.5 billion light-years from Earth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

Known as WD J1011+2845, this stellar remnant is located just 48 light-years from Earth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Later observations with the Hubble Space Telescope helped establish its distance of approximately 10.4 billion light-years and confirmed that the cluster appeared unusually developed for its age.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

It then became clear, from straightforward Greek geometry, that the stars were light-years away.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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