red dwarf

noun

: a star having substantially lower surface temperature, intrinsic luminosity, mass, and size than the sun

Examples of red dwarf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That star will likely be a small red dwarf, barely a fraction of our sun’s mass. Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2023 Within about 30 light years of here, there are 74 main sequence stars, 284 red dwarf stars and 21 white dwarfs. The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2022 The only stars whose habitable-zone planets are within the telescope’s reach are red dwarfs, like TRAPPIST-1. Elise Cutts, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023 The nearest star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri, an unremarkable (and invisible to the naked eye) red dwarf sitting about four and a quarter light-years away from us. Popular Mechanics, 8 Sep. 2023 His team’s conclusion, that conditions around red dwarf stars aren’t a deal breaker for life, is encouraging. WIRED, 2 Oct. 2023 Those are precisely the wavelengths at which these small red dwarf stars give off most of their light. WIRED, 2 Oct. 2023 More likely subject of study could be planets in orbit around the more numerous red dwarf stars, which are slightly cooler and less luminous than our sun. Chris Holt, Discover Magazine, 20 Apr. 2022 Acting on this insight, astronomers started to seek Earths in close orbits around dimmer, colder red dwarf stars, where atmospheric signals will be less drowned out by starlight and transits repeat more frequently. Quanta Magazine, 3 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red dwarf.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of red dwarf was in 1926

Dictionary Entries Near red dwarf

Cite this Entry

“Red dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20dwarf. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

red dwarf

noun
: a star having much lower surface temperature, brightness, mass, and size than the sun

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