Altair

noun

Al·​tair al-ˈtī(-ə)r How to pronounce Altair (audio)
-ˈter, 
ˈal-ˌtī(-ə)r, 
-ˌter
: the brightest star in the constellation Aquila

Examples of Altair in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lowest of the three stars in the Summer Triangle is Altair, the 12th brightest star in the night sky. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025 Before Altair, Brown held senior finance roles at NortonLifeLock, Symantec, Blue Coat, Brocade, NETGEAR, and KPMG. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025 The Summer Triangle—formed by the bright stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb—is a prominent asterism that lies along the Milky Way's path. — Harry Bennett, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2025 The star to the lower right of Vega is Altair, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. — Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 3 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Altair

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, shortened from Arabic al-nasr al-ṭāʼir "the flying eagle," a name for the line of stars Alpha, Beta and Gamma Aquilae

Note: According to Paul Kunitzsch, Arabische Sternnamen in Europa (Wiesbaden, 1959), the Arabic name (with many variants) was applied to the single star Alpha Aquilae for convenience in astrolabe manuals. In Arabic star nomenclature, al-nasr al-ṭāʼir, "the flying eagle" in Aquila was opposed to al-nasr al-wāqiʻ, "the falling eagle," applied to the three stars Alpha, Epsilon and Zeta Lyrae.

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Altair was in 1730

Rhymes for Altair

See All Rhymes for Altair

Browse Nearby Words

Altai Krai
Altair
Altaist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Altair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Altair. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All