Star Wars

American  

noun

1. a U.S. weapons research program begun in 1984 to explore technologies, including ground- and space-based lasers, for destroying attacking missiles and warheads.

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Star Wars British  

noun

1. Formal name: Strategic Defense Initiative.   SDI.  (in the US) a proposed system of artificial satellites armed with lasers to destroy enemy missiles in space

2. (modifier; sometimes not capitals) of, relating to, or denoting this system

   Star Wars defence

   star wars policy

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Star Wars ¹ Cultural  

1. A series of popular science fiction motion pictures created by George Lucas. The first trilogy debuted in 1977 with Star Wars: A New Hope. The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi followed in the 1980s. Prequels, Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, were recently released. The films are noted for combining classic themes of good versus evil with cutting-edge special effects.

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Star Wars ² Cultural  

1. A popular name, taken from the title of a film, for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of President Ronald Reagan. “Star Wars” involves the development by the United States of a defense in outer space against intercontinental ballistic missiles.

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Etymology

Origin of Star Wars

C20: popularly named after the science fiction film Star Wars (1977) by George Lucas

Example Sentences

High-profile pre-pandemic releases such as Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG” and Ron Howard’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” also failed to win over the Cannes faithful.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Top Gun have all premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the last decade.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

Those include “Toy Story 5,” “Moana” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which launches on Memorial Day weekend and is the first new Star Wars movie in seven years.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

She is staying on with the company as a producer and at the premiere said this film marks an important moment for the future of Star Wars on the big screen.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

We stayed up late watching Star Wars and eating Chex Mix.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko