constellation

American  

[kon-stuh-ley-shuhn] / ˌkɒn stəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

• constellations
  plural

1. Astronomy.

   1. any of various groups of stars to which definite names have been given, as Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Boötes, Cancer, Orion.

   2. the section of the heavens occupied by such a group.

2. Astrology.

   1. the grouping or relative position of the stars as supposed to influence events, especially at a person's birth.

   2. Obsolete. character as presumed to be determined by the stars.

3. a group or configuration of ideas, feelings, characteristics, objects, etc., that are related in some way.

   a constellation of qualities that made her particularly suited to the job.

4. any brilliant, outstanding group or assemblage.

   a constellation of great scientists.

   Synonyms:

   circle, company, gathering

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constellation British  

/ ˌkɒnstɪˈleɪʃən, -trɪ, kənˈstɛlətərɪ /

noun

1. 1. any of the 88 groups of stars as seen from the earth and the solar system, many of which were named by the ancient Greeks after animals, objects, or mythological persons

   2. an area on the celestial sphere containing such a group

2. a gathering of brilliant or famous people or things

3. psychoanal a group of ideas felt to be related

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constellation Scientific  

/ kŏn′stə-lā′shən /

1. A group of stars seen as forming a figure or design in the sky, especially one of 88 officially recognized groups, many of which are based on mythological traditions from ancient Greek and Middle Eastern civilizations.

2. An area of the sky occupied by one of the 88 recognized constellations. These irregularly defined areas completely fill the celestial sphere and divide it into nonoverlapping sections used in describing the location of celestial objects.

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constellation Cultural  

1. An easily recognized group of stars that appear to be located close together in the sky and that form a picture if lines connecting them are imagined. Constellations are usually named after an animal, a character from mythology, or a common object. (See Big Dipper, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor.)

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Usage

What else does constellation mean? A constellation is a way of thinking about sexuality by considering sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender expression as separate components (like stars) that together make up one's gender and sexual identity (constellation). What are some other words related to constellation?

• nonbinary
• cis
• gender-fluid
• queer

Closer Look

Various cultures throughout history have chosen different groups of stars in the night sky to form different constellations. While it was once thought that the Greeks were responsible for determining many of the constellations known today, it is now believed that the mythological origins of the 48 ancient constellations predate the Greeks and originate instead from ancient Middle Eastern civilizations. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries another 40 constellations were invented by Europeans for navigational purposes. The boundaries of the 88 constellations currently recognized were defined in the 1920s by the International Astronomical Union. There is no scientific reason why there are exactly 88; the modern constellations are only a convenient way to break up the sky to locate the position of celestial objects or track satellites. Although the stars in any given constellation may look like they're neighbors, they can actually be many light-years apart, and if seen from another part of the galaxy they would form different groups and shapes altogether. Constellation names are usually given in Latin, such as Ursa Major (Great Bear) or Centaurus (Centaur), and individual stars in constellations are named in order of brightness, using the Greek alphabet, with the genitive case of the constellation following. Therefore, Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus, Beta Centauri is the second brightest star, and so on. The stars within our galaxy are rushing through space in various directions, and as the millennia pass, the arrangements of the star groups as seen from Earth will change, inevitably altering the constellations as we know them.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subconstellation
  noun
• constellational
  adjective
• constellatory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• constellations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of constellation

1275–1325; Middle English constellacioun (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latin constellātiōn- (stem of constellātiō ). See constellate, -ion

Explanation

When you spot the Big Dipper in the night sky, you're looking at part of the constellation called "Ursa Major." A constellation is a group of stars that forms a pattern and has been given a name based on its shape. The visible night sky is divided into 88 constellations by astronomers. Organizing the stars into specific shapes and patterns helps when people study them, since they're broken down into manageable sections. A constellation can also be a cluster of things, like a constellation of freckles on your friend's nose. The stella in the middle of the word constellation means "star" in Latin, while the entire word means "set with stars."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

constellation constellations

The outlook comes as AST SpaceMobile expands its satellite constellation and adds commercial and government contracts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but their path seems to trace back to the constellation Perseus, which rises in the north east and climbs higher during the night.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

As he speaks, multiple Starlink devices -- part of the constellation of thousands of internet satellites launched by US tycoon Elon Musk's SpaceX -- float by on the control room screens.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

So yes: The Rams are a constellation of stars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

“Yeah,” Gabriel adds through a mouthful of food, “she has a whole constellation on her other arm.”

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

Instead of being blunt, he presents constellations of ideas that provide a stream-of-consciousness experience, where signs, symbols, objects, colors and emotions all compete for attention.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Starship's enormous payload capacity and planned rapid reuse make it well suited for ambitious projects such as lunar bases, Mars missions, and massive satellite constellations.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

The study is the first to calculate how much the constellations of big and particularly bright satellites being planned would impact astronomical observations by making the night sky brighter.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Then Golding wrote, “Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon’s dead body moved out towards the open sea.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

I like your freckles, the way they look like constellations against your skin.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

Related Words

• kind
• method
• sequence
• shape
• sort
• style
• system
• type
• variety