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
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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 See all Example Sentences for white dwarf 

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of white dwarf was in 1922

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

More from Merriam-Webster on white dwarf

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