galactic

adjective

ga·​lac·​tic gə-ˈlak-tik 

1

: of or relating to a galaxy and especially the Milky Way galaxy

2

: huge

a galactic sum of money

Synonyms

• astronomical
• astronomic
• Brobdingnagian
• bumper
• colossal
• cosmic
• cosmical
• cyclopean
• elephantine
• enormous
• gargantuan
• giant
• gigantesque
• gigantic
• grand
• herculean
• heroic
• heroical
• Himalayan
• huge
• humongous
• humungous
• immense
• jumbo
• king-size
• king-sized
• leviathan
• mammoth
• massive
• mega
• mighty
• monster
• monstrous
• monumental
• mountainous
• oceanic
• pharaonic
• planetary
• prodigious
• super
• super-duper
• supersize
• supersized
• titanic
• tremendous
• vast
• vasty
• walloping
• whacking
• whopping

Examples of galactic in a Sentence

a galactic serving of soda that would have been enough for three moviegoers

Recent Examples on the Web

Out of this world laughs and galactic giggles ahead in this list of the best sci-fi comedies of all time. —Grace Dean, Space.com, 11 Feb. 2025

Today, the planet hardly has a magnetic field; most of its atmosphere has leaked into space, and its surface is pummelled by solar and galactic radiation. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

Planetary multitudes Probing the secrets of galactic motion and dark energy won’t be Roman’s only task. —Jeffrey Kluger/greenbelt, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025

In approximately four billion years, scientists predict that our Milky Way will crash into the Andromeda Galaxy—our closest galactic neighbor—but that will be a more complex collision than the one recently highlighted by Hubble, per Universe Today’s Alan Boyle. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin galacticus (taken as derivative of Galaxias "Milky Way"), borrowed from Greek galaktikós "milky," from galakt-, gála "milk" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at galaxy

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

galactic

adjective

ga·​lac·​tic gə-ˈlak-tik 

: of or relating to a galaxy