nova
noun
a star that suddenly becomes thousands of times brighter and then gradually fades to its original intensity.
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nova
1 American
[noh-vuh]
/ ˈnoʊ və /
noun
Astronomy.
-
novas,
plural
-
novae
plural
Nova
2
American
[noh-vuh]
/ ˈnoʊ və /
noun
-
Also called Nova Salmon. a Pacific salmon cured in the style of Nova Scotia salmon.
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nova, (loosely) any smoked salmon.
nova
British
/ ˈnəʊvə /
noun
nova
Scientific
/ nō′və /
-
novae
plural
-
A white dwarf star that suddenly and temporarily becomes extremely bright as a result of the explosion at its surface of material accreted from an expanding companion star. The material, mostly hydrogen and helium, is attracted by the white dwarf's gravity and accumulates under growing pressure and heat until nuclear fusion is ignited. Unlike a supernova, a nova is not blown apart by the explosion and gradually returns to its original brightness over a period of weeks to years. Because of their sudden appearance where no star had been previously visible, novae were long thought to be new stars. Since 1925, novae have been classified as variable stars.
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Compare supernova
nova
Cultural
Usage
What is a nova? A nova is a star that temporarily becomes extremely bright and then returns to its original brightness. The plural of nova is novas or novae. A star is an object in outer space that is basically a big bright ball of gas. The Sun is the only star in our solar system. The Sun is a medium-sized star in the middle of its life. When a star the size of our Sun or smaller nears the end of its life, it becomes a white dwarf. A white dwarf is small (for a star) and, because of its size, not very bright. However, a white dwarf is very dense, so it has a strong gravitational pull. In a binary solar system, there are two stars. Sometimes, a white dwarf star in a binary system will pull hydrogen gas from a bigger, neighboring star. Eventually, it may pull so much hydrogen together that it causes an explosion. This explosion causes the white dwarf to become incredibly bright and become what is called a nova. A nova is temporary. Typically, a white dwarf only stays really bright for several days before returning to its original state. The white dwarf may again start pulling hydrogen from its neighbor and eventually again turn into a nova. Each cycle could take anywhere from a thousand to hundreds of thousands of years.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nova
First recorded in 1680–90; from New Latin: noun use of feminine of Latin novus “new”; see also new
Vocabulary lists containing nova
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Middle School
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Space Science (Astronomy) - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
The project, released just before Coachella, blended a diverse range of rhythms such as pop, Brazilian funk, R&B and bossa nova -- a mix that, for Sonza, is the essence of Brazil.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
Pair the bagels with hand sliced nova salmon, cream cheese, and a slice of tomato for a true feast.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
Although astronomers have not observed any nova events in this system in recent history, such outbursts often recur every few thousand years.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025
“Oganesson” is constructed around his delicate strummed riff, which recalls the ease of bossa nova, and it has an airiness and jazziness not found elsewhere on the record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
Where a nova could possibly be regarded as a miracle, a comet was too commonplace an occurrence to be handled in this way, so if comets were supralunary phenomena, Aristotle was wrong.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Gold seems to be caught between its traditional safe-haven role and the rising opportunity cost created by higher oil prices and tighter monetary-policy expectations, said Priyanka Sachdeva, head of market insights at Phillip Nova.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The company said it plans to make its first orbital launch attempt with its Nova Pathfinder rocket in early 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters Carney made specific requests that the United States wanted implemented by Canadian provinces.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Because he couldn’t skate growing up in tiny Port Williams, Nova Scotia — population 1,100 — Shaffelburg turned first to running, winning the province championship at 3,000 meters in middle school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
After nine days, they could be in Florida or Nova Scotia.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
Seeing exactly how the ejecta blast outward and interact is key to explaining how shock waves form in novae.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025
The researchers estimate that the rate of ONe novae peaked around 8 billion years ago, meaning that phosphorus would have been readily available when the Solar System started to form around 4.6 billion years ago.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2024
Some even linked this possibility with novae observed in the sky — sudden bursts of light that dazzle the midnight firmament.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
"I was looking for a much more common type of outburst called novae."
From Scientific American ● May 3, 2023
The super-bright novae are called, logically enough, supernovae.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
The Zwicky Transient Facility scans the sky for stars that rapidly change in brightness, which could be events such as novas.
From Scientific American ● May 3, 2023
Strongly influenced by the subtle bossa novas sung by João Gilberto, Ms. Costa began performing in her teens.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
There was a kind of cosmic rightness: two novas exploding together.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2018
In the 1980s, Shara had predicted that novas, novalike systems and dwarf novas were the same stars in different stages of an eruption cycle.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2017
Arguments over the location of novas and comets in the heavens thus continued even after 1610, after which date the traditional Ptolemaic system was abandoned by all competent participants.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
