Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Olbers' paradox

American  
[ohl-berz] / ˈoʊl bərz /

noun

Astronomy.

  1. the paradox that if the universe consisted of an infinite number of stars equally distributed through space, then every line of sight would come from a star and the night sky would glow uniformly, which is observationally not true.

Etymology

Origin of Olbers' paradox

First recorded in 1950–55; after H.W.M. Olbers

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.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Olbers' paradox" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com