Sirius

American  

[sir-ee-uhs] / ˈsɪr i əs /

noun

1. Astronomy. the Dog Star, the brightest-appearing star in the heavens, located in the constellation Canis Major.

2. Classical Mythology. Also Sirius

   1. the dog of Orion.

   2. Icarius' faithful dog, who was changed into a star.

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Sirius British  

/ ˈsɪrɪəs /

noun

1. Also called: the Dog Star.   Canicula.   Sothis.  the brightest star in the sky after the sun, lying in the constellation Canis Major. It is a binary star whose companion, Sirius B , is a very faint white dwarf. Distance: 8.6 light years

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Sirius Scientific  

/ sĭr′ē-əs /

1. The brightest star seen in the night sky. It is in the constellation Canis Major. It is a white main-sequence star on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, with an apparent magnitude of −1.5. Sirius is a binary star, and its companion is a white dwarf star referred to as the Pup. Sirius is also known as the Dog Star. Scientific name: Alpha Canis.

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Etymology

Origin of Sirius

1325–75; Middle English < Latin Sīrius < Greek Seírios

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sirius

He wrote 22 books, countless liner notes, and hosted three radio shows on Sirius XM: “Live from E Street Nation,” “Live from the Land of Hopes and Dreams,” and “Kick Out The Jams.”

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

He used the giant telescope to capture the twinkling of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

The Sirius patrol, tasked with defending a huge, largely uninhabited swathe of the island in the northeast measuring 972,000 square km, travels across the ice by dogsled.

From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026

Four months later, a cover of The Cranberries' Linger for Sirius XM entered the US Top 100 and became the band's biggest song on Spotify, with 223 million plays.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

“You know, Sirius, that’s a fair question,” said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling