Fomalhaut

American

[foh-muhl-hawt, -muh-loh] / ˈfoʊ məlˌhɔt, -məˌloʊ /

noun

Astronomy.

a star of the first magnitude and the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus.

Fomalhaut British

/ ˈfəʊməˌləʊt /

noun

the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus, possessing a protoplanetary disc. Distance: 25 light years. Spectral type A3V

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Fomalhaut

First recorded in 1585–95; from Spanish Arabic fam al-ḥawt “mouth of the fish”; so called from its position in the constellation Piscis Austrinus ( Latin , literally “southern fish”)

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.

Wyatt estimates that roughly 300 million planetesimals of similar size orbit Fomalhaut.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

Yet astronomers have now identified evidence of two enormous collisions around a nearby star named Fomalhaut, all within just 20 years.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

In the final image, the object known as Fomalhaut b had completely disappeared.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

Fomalhaut lies in the southern constellation Piscis Austrinus and shines with 16 times the luminosity of our sun, making it one of the brightest stars visible from Earth.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

Fomalhaut is one of the four "royal stars" of astrology.

From A Field Book of the Stars by Olcott, William Tyler

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023