supergiant star

American  

noun

1. Astronomy. an exceptionally luminous star whose diameter is more than 100 times that of the sun, as Betelgeuse or Antares.

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Etymology

Origin of supergiant star

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The study, published in Nature Astronomy, focused on Cygnus X-1, a well-known system that includes the first confirmed black hole and a massive supergiant star.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star easily recognizable as the right “shoulder” of the constellation Orion, had suddenly and mysteriously dimmed by more than a factor of two.

From Scientific American • Jun. 17, 2022

The previous record-holder, Icarus, also a blue supergiant star spotted by Hubble, formed 9.4 billion years ago.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2022

“Still, more supernovae are expected to take place in the near future, like Antares, a red supergiant star near the edge of the bubble that could go any century now,” Dr. Alves said.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2022

The cool supergiant star Antares can be seen as a big, reddish patch in the lower-left part of the picture.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016