white dwarf

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. a star, approximately the size of the earth, that has undergone gravitational collapse and is in the final stage of evolution for low-mass stars, beginning hot and white and ending cold and dark black dwarf.

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white dwarf British  

noun

1. one of a large class of small faint stars of enormous density (on average 10 ⁸ kg/m³) with diameters only about 1 per cent that of the sun, and masses less than the Chandrasekhar limit (about 1.4 solar masses). It is thought to mark the final stage in the evolution of a sun-like star

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white dwarf Scientific  

1. A small, extremely dense star characterized by high temperature and luminosity. A white dwarf is believed to be in its final stage of evolution, having either used up most of its nuclear fuel in its main-sequence stage, or else moved through a giant stage and shed any remaining fuel in its outer layer as a planetary nebula, leaving only a glowing core. Some 10 percent of all stars in the Milky Way are white dwarfs, but despite their intrinsic luminosity, they are so small that none are visible to the naked eye.

2. See Note at dwarf

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white dwarf Cultural  

1. A kind of star about the size of the Earth. White dwarfs represent a final stage of the life cycle of stars similar to the sun; they are formed when the stars use up their fuel and can no longer support nuclear reactions.

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Etymology

Origin of white dwarf

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white dwarf

According to Fuller's calculations, a star approaching the white dwarf stage may experience roughly 10,000 small kicks over several hundred thousand years.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

His calculations indicate that uneven bursts of escaping material can repeatedly push a dying star in different directions, giving it thousands of small kicks before the white dwarf fully forms.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Every system lies within 65 light-years of Earth, and one contains the ninth closest known white dwarf to the Sun.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

This analysis officially confirmed that all four systems contained white dwarf stars.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

But a more massive star will spend its nuclear fuel faster, become a red giant sooner, and be first to enter the final white dwarf decline.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan