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.
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novas,
plural
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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
Such a binary is called a nova and has quite a different origin from a supernova.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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
Find insight on Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Klarna Group and more in the latest Market Talks covering financial services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Some agreed, like the leader of the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Meanwhile, other premiers, namely of Nova Scotia and the Yukon territory, said they were prepared to restore US alcohol sales.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“We’re in trouble. Big trouble,” I told Juanita and the twins once we got down the road in my father’s beat-up Nova.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
The findings show that novae can be far more complicated than a single sudden outburst.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025
The theory suggests a type of stellar explosion known as ONe novae as a major source of phosphorus.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2024
What if these novae were actually the remnants of technological civilizations like ours, which had in fact discovered the dreaded "detonator" referenced by Rutherford?
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
"I was looking for a much more common type of outburst called novae."
From Scientific American ● May 3, 2023
Proper naked-eye observations of novae and comets could produce results incompatible with celestial-sphere astronomy, but these results were irrelevant to planetary predictions.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
There was a kind of cosmic rightness: two novas exploding together.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2018
There’s so much music in Berlin’s stories, from the “Cielito Lindo” guitar players of her youth to her own music: Buddy Holly, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, the bossa novas of Astrud Gilberto.
From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 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.
