nebula
noun
-ˌlī
also nebulas
Did you know?
The history of nebula belongs not to the mists of time but to the mists of Latin: in that language nebula means "mist" or "cloud." In its earliest English uses in the 1600s, nebula was chiefly a medical term that could refer either to a cloudy formation in urine or to a cloudy speck or film on the eye. Nebula was first applied to great interstellar clouds of gas and dust in the early 1700s. The adjective nebulous comes from the same Latin root as nebula, and it is considerably older, being first used as a synonym of cloudy or foggy as early as the 1300s. Like nebula, this adjective was not used in an astronomical sense until centuries later.
Examples of nebula in a Sentence
Samuel Sanders, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2024
During his most recent visit to the research center, the professor captured a series of striking images of nebulas and galaxies.
—Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Astronomers recently aimed the mighty James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at the Crab in hopes of better understanding the nebula's structure.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023
In fact, Hamber is more impressed by galaxies and nebulas in comparison with the planets.
—Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nebula 
Dictionary Entries Near nebula
Cite this Entry
“Nebula.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nebula. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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nebula
noun
Medical Definition
nebula
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