Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Late Latin
Origin: galaxias, from Greek, from gala 'milk'; because the Galaxy looks milky white from the Earth

galaxy

 noun
     
Related topics: Astronomy
gal‧ax‧y plural galaxies
1HA [countable] one of the large groups of stars that make up the universe
2

the Galaxy

HA the large group of stars which our sun and its planets belong to
3 [singular] a large number of things that are similar
galaxy of
a galaxy of British artistic talent
WORD FOCUS: space WORD FOCUS: space
vehicles used in space: spaceship, spacecraft, rocket, (space) shuttle, probe, satellite, space station
someone who travels in space: astronaut, cosmonaut Russian
parts of a rocket's journey: countdown, launch, blast-off/take-off/lift-off, leaving the earth's atmosphere, going into orbit, re-entering the earth's atmosphere, splashdown/touchdown
places and things in space: planet, moon, star, sun, satellite, solar system, constellation, galaxy, universe, the cosmos, black hole, quasar, comet, meteor, asteroid
the study of space: astronomyspace

➔ See also space
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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