astronomical
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or connected with astronomy.
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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
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of or relating to astronomy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of astronomical
First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin astronomic(us) (from Greek astronomikós ) + -al 1; see 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.
Despite its age, continuous upgrades have kept the Lovell telescope at the cutting edge of astronomical research.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
And it is great, the way that Stonehenge is great, another astronomical instrument straining at the bounds of human expression to convey our silent wonder at the mysteries of the cosmos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"They are just astronomical," says Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, a real estate company that tracks US home prices.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The study is the first to calculate how much the constellations of big and particularly bright satellites being planned would impact astronomical observations by making the night sky brighter.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
By the time he was done tallying the accessories, including gloves for the grave digger, the total cost was astronomical.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
