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light-year
[lahyt-yeer, -yeer]
noun
Astronomy.the distance traversed by light in one mean solar year, about 5.88 trillion mi. (9.46 trillion km): used as a unit in measuring stellar distances. lt-yr
light-years,
a very great distance, especially in development or progress.
The new computer is light-years ahead of the old one.
a very long time.
It's been light-years since I've seen my childhood friends.
light year
noun
a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to the distance travelled by light in one year, i.e. 9.4607×10 12 kilometres or 0.3066 parsecs
light-year
The distance that light travels in a vacuum in one year, equal to about 9.46 trillion km (5.88 trillion mi). Light-years are used in measuring interstellar and intergalactic distances.
Compare astronomical unit parsec
light year
The distance traveled by light in a year (over five trillion miles); a unit for measuring distances outside the solar system. The star nearest to our sun, Alpha Centauri, is more than four light years away.
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of light-year1
Compare Meanings
How does light-year compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
“I’m several light-years from my apartment,” he proclaims, “and I’m not an astronaut.”
That’s silly for any number of reasons, not least the fact the campaign is political light-years away.
One was his debut, “Boxcar Sessions,” an incredibly left-of-center release that was still definitely rooted in hip-hop, though it still sounded light-years ahead of its time.
The exact intensity of Tsuchinshan-ATLAS’s brightness is tough to predict; the comet is still light-years away from Earth, after all.
Instead of orbiting our Sun, this exoplanet revolves around a star in the Virgo constellation roughly 200 light-years from Earth.
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