hypervelocity

noun

hy·​per·​ve·​loc·​i·​ty ˌhī-pər-və-ˈlä-sə-tē 

-ˈlä-stē

: a high or relatively high velocity (such as thousands of feet or meters per second)

Examples of hypervelocity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a theoretical model, the team predicted that a supermassive black hole in the LMC would create hypervelocity stars and place them on the edge of our galaxy. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2025

Evidence for this hidden cosmic titan was delivered via hypervelocity stars at the edge of the Milky Way; these 'runaway stars' that appear to have been fired from the LMC by a hitherto undiscovered supermassive black hole. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025

Han and his colleagues recently studied 21 of these hypervelocity stars at the fringes of the Milky Way. —Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 6 Mar. 2025

That means this hypervelocity star and its planet could be destined to escape the Milky Way and go intergalactic, though this process would take millions of years. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hypervelocity

• impetuosity
• religiosity
• animosity
• curiosity
• generosity
• grandiosity
• nebulosity
• reciprocity
• tortuosity
• tuberosity
• virtuosity
• atrocity