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• galaxy
  galaxy

  noun
• Galaxy
  Galaxy

  noun

  the spiral galaxy, approximately 100 000 light years in diameter, that contains the solar system about three fifths of the distance from its centre See also Magellanic Cloud

galaxy

American  

[gal-uhk-see] / ˈgæl ək si /

noun

galaxies plural

1. Astronomy.

   1. a large system of stars held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space.

   2. Often the galaxy or the Galaxy the system of stars in which the earth and the sun are located; the Milky Way.

2. any large and brilliant or impressive assemblage of people or things.

   Guests at the party included a whole galaxy of opera stars.

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Galaxy ¹ British  

/ ˈɡæləksɪ /

noun

1. Also known as: the Milky Way System.  the spiral galaxy, approximately 100 000 light years in diameter, that contains the solar system about three fifths of the distance from its centre See also Magellanic Cloud

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galaxy ² British  

/ ˈɡæləksɪ /

noun

1. Former names: island universe.   extragalactic nebula.  any of a vast number of star systems held together by gravitational attraction in an asymmetric shape (an irregular galaxy ) or, more usually, in a symmetrical shape (a regular galaxy ), which is either a spiral or an ellipse

2. a splendid gathering, esp one of famous or distinguished people

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galaxy Scientific  

/ găl′ək-sē /

1. Any of numerous large-scale collections of stars, gas, and dust that make up the visible universe. Galaxies are held together by the gravitational attraction of the material contained within them, and most are organized around a galactic nucleus into elliptical or spiral shapes, with a small percentage of galaxies classed as irregular in shape. A galaxy may range in diameter from some hundreds of light-years for the smallest dwarfs to hundreds of thousands of light-years for the largest ellipticals, and may contain from a few million to several trillion stars. Many galaxies are grouped into clusters, with the clusters themselves often grouped into larger superclusters.

2. See more at active galaxy See also elliptical galaxy irregular galaxy lenticular galaxy spiral galaxy

3. the Galaxy. The Milky Way.

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galaxy Cultural  

1. A large, self-contained mass of stars.

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Discover More

A common form for galaxies is a bright center with spiral arms radiating outward.

The sun belongs to the galaxy called the Milky Way.

The universe contains billions of galaxies.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• galaxies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of galaxy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galaxie, galaxias, from Medieval Latin galaxia, galaxias, ultimately from Greek galaxías kýklos “the Milky Way”; see cycle, galacto-

Explanation

A galaxy is a collection of stars and planets that are held together by gravity. In a galaxy, the celestial bodies rotate around a central object. The Earth's galaxy is known as the Milky Way. Our solar system, made up of the Sun and the planets that encircle it, is a tiny part of that galaxy. A galaxy can also refer to a gathering of a lot of sparkly people –– like celebrities or sports stars. What gravity holds this galaxy together? Usually cameras.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

galaxy Galaxy galaxies

It shows the galaxy as it appeared when the light began its journey.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

These jets can heat surrounding gas, slow the formation of new stars, and influence how the galaxy changes over billions of years.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

The books take place in a galaxy where space travel is fast and many people live in indentured servitude to giant corporations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

ARLINGTON, Texas — In a World Cup boasting a galaxy of stars, a lunch-bucket team of blue-collar everymen may wind up outshining them all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

This, Evans told me, was a star in a constellation called Fornax from a galaxy known to astronomy as NGC1365.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

"Galaxy Z Fold8 is the clear star of the show," said Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst for PP Foresight.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Los Angeles Galaxy held the discovery rights for Casemiro but in announcing the player's signing, Inter Miami said they had acquired the rights from the Galaxy.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

When Beckham signed for LA Galaxy 19 years ago, stadiums across Major League Soccer sold out before he had even played a competitive match.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

That crew member was 30-year-old Karmarkar, the third engineer of the GFS Galaxy, a containership that had left the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

And with our newly acquired information sorted into a computer memory, we would be able to see which sort of civilization lived where in the Galaxy.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The e-Merlin network is part of a pan-European network of telescopes - without it, images of distant stars and galaxies will be less clear.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The site was first established in 1945 and pioneered radio astronomy and the study of galaxies beyond our own.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The UK will no longer participate in research at the James Clark Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii, which scientists are using to image supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

We may also eventually receive light from some galaxies located even farther away, provided that the light began traveling toward us when the galaxies were nearer.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

Some clusters have their galaxies arranged in an unambiguously spherical geometry; they are composed chiefly of ellipticals, often dominated by one giant elliptical, the presumptive galactic cannibal.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan