Altair

American  

[al-tair, -tahy^uhr, al-tair, -tahyuhr] / ˈæl tɛər, -taɪər, ælˈtɛər, -ˈtaɪər /

noun

1. a first-magnitude star in the constellation Aquila.

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Altair British  

/ ˈæltɛə /

noun

1. the brightest star in the constellation Aquila. Visual magnitude: 0.77; spectral type: A7V; distance: 16.8 light years

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Altair Scientific  

/ ăl-târ′,-tīr′ /

1. A bright white star in the constellation Aquila. Altair is a main-sequence star in the Hertzprung-Russell diagram. It is the 12th brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of 0.77. Altair, along with Vega and Deneb, form the Summer Triangle asterism. Scientific name: Alpha Aquilae.

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Etymology

Origin of Altair

< Arabic ( al-nasr ) al-ṭā'ir (the) flying (eagle)

Example Sentences

The multimillion-dollar four-bedroom home being searched is in Altair, an exclusive gated community adjacent to the Great Park and across the street from Portola High School.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

After Altair Jaspe moved from Venezuela to the Colombian capital, Bogotá, she was taken aback by the way she was addressed when she walked into any shop, cafe or doctor’s office.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2024

What sets Altair apart from most stars is that it’s what’s called a rapid rotator, a star that spins rapidly—extremely rapidly.

From Scientific American • Jul. 14, 2023

In 1975, a company in New Mexico released the first marketed personal computer, the Altair 8800.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

That was when the magazine Popular Electronics ran a cover story on an extraordinary machine called the Altair 8800.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell