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failed star

American  
[feyld stahr] / ˈfeɪld ˈstɑr /

noun

Astronomy.
  1. brown dwarf.

  2. gas giant.


Etymology

Origin of failed star

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

“The first criterion was there should be no light coming from the lens,” Sahu says, to rule out more prosaic objects such as a failed star known as a brown dwarf.

From Scientific American • Feb. 3, 2022

More likely, they wrote, it was a brown dwarf, a sort of failed star that never ignited nuclear fusion reactions.

From Scientific American • Nov. 12, 2019

The film, written by Matt Greenhalgh, aspires to be a much more modest British answer to “Citizen Kane,” especially in its portrait of a mogul as failed star maker.

From New York Times • Jul. 4, 2013

That puts it very, very close to the upper limit of what a planet is, and at the lower end of it being a brown dwarf, a sort-of failed star.

From Slate • Nov. 19, 2012

With Willis, and his legitimate acting chops, nearby, it only makes Stallone seem pathetic: a failed star hoping for a comeback and pulling favors from his cooler, more successful friends.

From Salon • Aug. 13, 2010