Sirius

[ sir-ee-uhs ]

noun
  1. Astronomy. the Dog Star, the brightest-appearing star in the heavens, located in the constellation Canis Major.

  2. Also Sir·i·us .Classical Mythology.

    • the dog of Orion.

    • Icarius' faithful dog, who was changed into a star.

Origin of Sirius

1
1325–75; Middle English <Latin Sīrius <Greek Seírios

Words Nearby Sirius

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Sirius in a sentence

  • Sirius B, its companion, is a different matter; it's a white dwarf.

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell
  • It has only one one-hundred-twenty-five-thousandths the volume of Sirius A, but it weighs one third as much.

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell
  • Because of its brilliance and relative proximity to Sol, Sirius is the brightest star in the heavens, as seen from Earth.

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell
  • Arcot watched the dull red spark of Sirius become increasingly dimmer.

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell
  • The mighty blaze of Sirius had warmed Pluto, vaporizing its atmosphere and thawing its seas.

    Islands of Space | John W Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for Sirius

Sirius

/ (ˈsɪrɪəs) /


noun
  1. the brightest star in the sky after the sun, lying in the constellation Canis Major. It is a binary star whose companion, Sirius B, is a very faint white dwarf. Distance: 8.6 light years: Also called: the Dog Star, Canicula, Sothis Related adjectives: canicular, cynic

Origin of Sirius

1
C14: via Latin from Greek Seirios, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Sirius

Sirius

[ sĭrē-əs ]


  1. The brightest star seen in the night sky. It is in the constellation Canis Major. It is a white main-sequence star on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, with an apparent magnitude of -1.5. Sirius is a binary star, and its companion is a white dwarf star referred to as the Pup. Sirius is also known as the Dog Star. Scientific name: Alpha Canis.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.