Betelgeuse

American  

[beet-l-jooz, bet-l-jœz] / ˈbit lˌdʒuz, ˈbɛt lˌdʒœz /

Or Betelgeux

noun

Astronomy.

1. a first-magnitude red supergiant in the constellation Orion.

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Betelgeuse British  

/ ˌbiːtəlˈdʒɜːz, ˈbiːtəlˌdʒɜːz /

noun

1. a very remote luminous red supergiant, Alpha Orionis: the second brightest star in the constellation Orion. It is a variable star

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Betelgeuse Scientific  

/ bēt′l-jo̅o̅z′ /

1. A red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. It is a variable star with a brightest apparent magnitude of 0.5. Scientific name: Alpha Orionis.

2. See Note at Rigel

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Etymology

Origin of Betelgeuse

1790–1800; < French < Arabic bīt al jauzāʾ shoulder of the giant (i.e., of Orion)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Betelgeuse

Astronomers have monitored Betelgeuse for decades, tracking changes in its brightness and surface features in an effort to understand its unpredictable behavior.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2026

Astronomers analyzing fresh observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and several ground-based observatories have uncovered clear signs that a recently identified companion star is shaping the environment around Betelgeuse.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2026

In 2019 and 2020, Betelgeuse began to grow dimmer and dimmer in brightness, so much that astronomers called this event, the ‘Great Dimming.’

From Space Scoop ● Aug. 20, 2025

Set more than three decades after the original Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz is now a mother struggling to keep her family together when Betelgeuse returns to haunt her.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024

The nearest likely candidate he added, is Betelgeuse, whose various sputterings have for years suggested that something interestingly unstable is going on there.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson