galactic

adjective

ga·​lac·​tic gə-ˈlak-tik How to pronounce galactic (audio)
Synonyms of galacticnext
1
: of or relating to a galaxy and especially the Milky Way galaxy
2
: huge
a galactic sum of money

Synonyms of galactic

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of galactic in a Sentence

a galactic serving of soda that would have been enough for three moviegoers
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.
Throughout outer space lie stars and galaxies that resemble creepy creatures, spooky skulls and galactic ghouls. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2026 Come nightfall, the sky transforms into a galactic amphitheatre, offering thousands of shooting stars and some of the clearest views of the Milky Way anywhere in the world. — Luke Abrahams, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2026 That makes this galactic trio bad news for MOND, or modified Newtonian dynamics, an alternative to dark matter proposed in 1983 by the physicist Mordehai Milgrom. — Quanta Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 Players enlist as a rookie in the UEE Navy and embark on a dangerous journey through the galactic war. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for galactic

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin galacticus (taken as derivative of Galaxias "Milky Way"), borrowed from Greek galaktikós "milky," from galakt-, gála "milk" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at galaxy

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of galactic was in 1839

Rhymes for galactic

See All Rhymes for galactic

Browse Nearby Words

Galactia
galactic
galactic coordinate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Galactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galactic. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

galactic

adjective
ga·​lac·​tic gə-ˈlak-tik How to pronounce galactic (audio)
: of or relating to a galaxy
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All