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white dwarf
noun
plural white dwarfs
: a small hot whitish star of low intrinsic brightness usually with a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but with a density many times larger
Examples of white dwarf in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Situated some 3,000 light-years away from Earth, the Blaze Star is a binary system in which a white dwarf, the core remains of a dying star, accumulates material from its neighboring red giant star.
—Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
The white dwarf stage is normally a super peaceful retirement period for stars.
—Jacek Krywko, Ars Technica, 21 May 2024
Their proximity allows material to flow from the subgiant to the white dwarf.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 23 Dec. 2024
That appears to be what happened some 4000 light-years away, allowing a planet similar in mass and orbital position to slide twice as far from its star, surviving the star’s expansion into a red giant and subsequent contraction into a white dwarf.
—Christie Wilcox, science.org, 30 Sep. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1922, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near white dwarf
Cite this Entry
“White dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20dwarf. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
white dwarf
noun
: a small whitish star of low brightness that has a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but that is many times more dense
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