Meanings
plural white dwarfs · plural rare white dwarves
- astronomyThe dim, highly dense core remnant that is the final stage in the evolution of a star of low or medium mass, after nuclear reactions have ceased.
1 more example
In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are close together, the white dwarf will siphon mass away from its companion and have an outburst called a nova. And when the white dwarf accumulates too much mass, it will collapse and explode in a supernova. […] When white dwarfs explode, they create heavy elements that could exist around J1249+36.
2024 August 21, Ashley Strickland, “An unusual object is moving so fast it could escape the Milky Way. Scientists aren’t certain what it is”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2024Synonyms: WD
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe dim, highly dense core remnant that is the final stage in the evolution of a star of low or medium mass, after nuclear reactions have ceased.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Coined by Dutch astronomer Willem Luyten in 1922.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic قَزْم أَبْيَض
- قَزْم أَبْيَض (qazm ʔabyaḍ)dead star of low or medium mass
Catalan nana blanca
- nana blancadead star of low or medium mass
Chinese Mandarin 白矮星
- 白矮星 (bái'ǎixīng)dead star of low or medium mass
Czech bílý trpaslík
- bílý trpaslíkdead star of low or medium mass
Danish hvid dværg
- hvid dværgdead star of low or medium mass
Dutch witte dwerg
- witte dwergdead star of low or medium mass
Esperanto blanka nano
- blanka nanodead star of low or medium mass
Estonian valge kääbus
- valge kääbusdead star of low or medium mass
Finnish valkoinen kääpiö
- valkoinen kääpiödead star of low or medium mass
French naine blanche
- naine blanchedead star of low or medium mass
German Weißer Zwerg
- Weißer Zwergdead star of low or medium mass
Greek λευκός νάνος
- λευκός νάνος (lefkós nános)dead star of low or medium mass
Hebrew נַנָּס לָבָן
- נַנָּס לָבָן (nanás laván)dead star of low or medium mass
Hindi श्वेत बौना तारा
- श्वेत बौना तारा (śvet baunā tārā)dead star of low or medium mass
Hungarian fehér törpe
- fehér törpedead star of low or medium mass
Irish abhac bán
- abhac bándead star of low or medium mass
Italian nana bianca
- nana biancadead star of low or medium mass
Japanese 白色矮星
- 白色矮星 (hakushokuwaisei)dead star of low or medium mass
Korean 백색 왜성
- 백색 왜성 (baeksaek waeseong)dead star of low or medium mass
Latvian baltais punduris
- baltais pundurisdead star of low or medium mass
Polish biały karzeł
- biały karzełdead star of low or medium mass
Portuguese anã branca
- anã brancadead star of low or medium mass
Romanian pitică albă
- pitică albădead star of low or medium mass
Russian бе́лый ка́рлик
- бе́лый ка́рлик (bélyj kárlik)dead star of low or medium mass
Spanish enana blanca
- enana blancadead star of low or medium mass
Swedish vit dvärg
- vit dvärgdead star of low or medium mass
Turkish beyaz cüce
- beyaz cücedead star of low or medium mass
Vietnamese sao lùn trắng
- sao lùn trắngdead star of low or medium mass
Cite this entry
white dwarf. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/white%20dwarf
“white dwarf.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/white%20dwarf. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “white dwarf,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/white%20dwarf.
Source: white dwarf on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.