Etimology
From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster, stella, étoile, and estoile.
noun
star (plural stars)
Any small, natural and bright dot appearing in the unobscured sky, especially in the night or twilight sky.
(astronomy) A spheroid of plasma with sufficient gravity to fuse hydrogen or heavier elements into heavier elements still. Depending on context the Sun may or may not be included.
(geometry) A concave polygon with regular, pointy protrusions and indentations, usually with four, five, or six points.
(acting) An actor in a leading role.
An exceptionally talented or famous person, often in a specific field; a celebrity.
(Jamaica, MLE, African-American Vernacular) (by extension) A friend, a mate, a pal.
(printing) An asterisk (*) or symbol (★).
A symbol used to rate hotels, films, etc. with a higher number of stars denoting better quality.
A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.
(astrology) A planet supposed to influence one's destiny.
A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour.
A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.
Examples
Many Hollywood stars attended the launch party.
His teacher tells us he is a star pupil.
Star reporter, leg-man, cub, veteran gray in the trade—one and all they tried to pin the Bat like a caught butterfly to the front page of their respective journals—soon or late each gave up, beaten. He was news— […] —the brief, staccato recital of his career in the morgues of the great dailies grew longer and more incredible each day.
"Wha'ppen, star!" Hector said, grinning to reveal a gold-capped tooth. He told everyone it was solid twenty-four carat, but if it was, he would have wrenched it out with pliers to pawn to the highest bidder by now.
Switches character to the street-wise Ragamuffin, speaking out of the corner of his mouth in Creole: "Whappen now star! Seckle, seckle now people! Cool, cool na baass! [what is happening friends? Settle down]
'Dey ain't mine,' Stacey snapped, flicking her head towards the yutes in the bedroom. 'I'm juss lookin after dem fi mi fren dem. I only av six pickney by tree men enuh, star.'
Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.
What's in the stars for you today? Find out in our horoscope.
But O malignant and ill-boading Starres, […]
Men bless their stars and call it luxury.
But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, […] . By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come.
[…] on whom […] / Lavish Honour shower’d all her stars, […]
Related words
synonyms
aster (obsolete)
(astronomy): ✶ or ＊ (abbreviation), sun
hypernyms
(astronomy): celestial body
hyponyms
Ae star
barium star
Be star
binary star
blue hook star
boson star
carbon star
clock star
compact star
dark star
death star
double star
dwarf star
early-type star
exotic star
faxed star
fixed star
flare star
frozen star
giant star
guide star
helium star
infant star
low mass star
multiple star
neutron star
north star
orphan star
Planck star
polar star, pole star
proto-neutron star, protoneutron star
protostar
quadruple star
quark star
red giant
reference star
shell star
shooting star
single star
superstar
symbiotic star
telescopic star
trinary star
triple star
T Tauri star
white dwarf
Wolf-Rayet star
related terms
estoile
étoile
stella
stellar
verb
star (third-person singular simple present stars, present participle starring, simple past and past participle starred)
(intransitive) To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program.
(transitive) To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.
(transitive) To mark with a star or asterisk.
(transitive) To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
(intransitive) To shine like a star.
Examples
She starred in dozens of silent movies.
I was inundated with invitations; […] I felt, indeed, much as a great actor must when he goes 'starring' in the provinces.
The show stars Calista Flockhart as a high-powered lawyer.
"What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.
Thy gloomy Grandeurs claim a grateful Verſe; / And, like a ſable Curtain ſtarr’d with Gold, / Drawn o’er my Labours paſt, ſhall cloſe the Scene.
Related words
synonyms
(to mark with an asterisk): asterisk