astronomical
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or connected with astronomy.
-
extremely large; exceedingly great; enormous.
It takes an astronomical amount of money to build a car factory.
adjective
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enormously large; immense
-
of or relating to astronomy
Other Word Forms
- astronomically adverb
- nonastronomic adjective
- nonastronomical adjective
- nonastronomically adverb
Etymology
Origin of astronomical
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin astronomic(us) (from Greek astronomikós ) + -al 1; astronomy, -ic
Explanation
If you lie down on a big field or on a rooftop and look up, the sky is so wide and high, it is astronomical in size — bigger than huge. Everything in that sky, including the stars and planets, is also astronomical because it is part of a science called astronomy. Astra and aster are the Latin and Greek words for star, and the first four letters of astronomical, a-s-t-r, are a scramble of the word star. Astronomy includes the study of stars, but planets and other objects and happenings in space are also part of astronomical studies. Considering how large everything in space is, it makes sense that very, very large or uncountable things sometimes get the description astronomical.
Vocabulary lists containing astronomical
Eclipse Vocabulary
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From Ascension to Zenith: Astronomy and Stargazing Terms
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Elements of the Universe: Aster, Astro ("Star")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
John Maclean, from the UK Meteor Network, said the meteor was not connected to any astronomical event, and likely stemmed from a larger asteroid.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Its mission is to make large astronomical datasets publicly available so researchers and students alike can explore them.
From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2026
Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and Emily Peck discuss what this deal says about the private and public markets and try to wrap their heads around the astronomical valuations of OpenAI and SpaceX.
From Slate • Apr. 4, 2026
Researchers and a growing number of companies say that space promises to deliver astronomical benefits.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
Even as a kid I would hear stories about how much money they made, which seemed like astronomical hourly rates.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
