quasar

noun

qua·​sar ˈkwā-ˌzär How to pronounce quasar (audio)
 also  -ˌsär
: a region at the center of a galaxy that produces an extremely large amount of radiation

Examples of quasar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Recent research revealed quasars to be the consequence of galaxies colliding. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 The baby quasars in JWST’s first year of observations are more numerous than scientists had predicted based on the census of adult quasars—between 10 times and 100 times more abundant. WIRED, 5 Nov. 2023 The quasar sits at the center of a young galaxy and is one of the two most powerful quasars discovered in radio waves in the first billion years after the big bang, according to a Tuesday release. Julia Musto, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2021 Scarcely 45 minutes later, resident astronomer Elinor Gates has already used light-wavelength data to identify a quasar — the galaxy core where gases and space dust go out in a blaze of luminous glory just before they’re sucked inside a black hole. Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2024 Astronomers observed 48 different galaxies that contain quasars and compared them to more than 100 galaxies without them. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 26 Apr. 2023 Scientists know from studying quasars—extremely bright cores of galaxies—that many supermassive black holes existed less than 700 million years after the Big Bang. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Nov. 2023 These precursors wouldn’t quite be quasars, but galaxies with somewhat smaller black holes on their way to becoming quasars. WIRED, 5 Nov. 2023 After all, Fan’s quasars had to come from somewhere. WIRED, 5 Nov. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

quasi-stellar

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of quasar was in 1964

Dictionary Entries Near quasar

Cite this Entry

“Quasar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quasar. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

quasar

noun
qua·​sar ˈkwā-ˌzär How to pronounce quasar (audio)
 also  -ˌsär
: any of the very distant starlike heavenly objects that give off very strong blue and ultraviolet light and powerful radio waves

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