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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
After the nova, the white dwarf returns to its normal size, and starts the process all over again.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
But the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting a white dwarf—the stage of stellar evolution that follows a red giant—provides evidence that survival is a possibility, researchers reported last week in Nature Astronomy.
—Christie Wilcox, science.org, 30 Sep. 2024
Such white dwarf stars are the hot, glowing stellar cores left behind when dying sunlike stars blow off their outer layers.
—Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2024
Scientists are hoping to study the nova to discover what happens when the material is blasted from the white dwarf and distributed into neighboring galaxies, Boyd said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Oct. 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 30 Nov. 2024.
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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