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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What's left behind is the raw stellar core — a white dwarf. Julian Dossett, Space.com, 7 Apr. 2025 Since this star system of a white dwarf (the dense core of a dead star) and a red supergiant (an expanding cooling star) is 3,000 light-years away, whatever is about to happen did so 3,000 years ago. Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025 Now, astronomers have zeroed in on the surprising origin of the unusual radio pulses: a dead star, called a white dwarf, that is closely orbiting a small, cool red dwarf star. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025 Multiple kinds of observations from a variety of instruments led groups to a rare phenomenon: a white dwarf tightly orbiting a red dwarf every 125 minutes. Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2025 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

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Cite this Entry

“White dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20dwarf. Accessed 24 Apr. 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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