starry
Americanadjective
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filled, covered with, or illuminated by stars
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of, like, or relating to a star or stars
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of starry
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at star, -y 1
Explanation
Starry things are either full of stars, like the starry night sky, or they look like stars, like the starry white flowers in your garden. An astronaut may have the chance to look out at the starry universe or distant, starry galaxies—and you can do this too, if you have a powerful telescope. The adjective starry almost always describes the night sky, unless a poet describes starry eyes or starry fields of flowers. If someone calls you starry-eyed, they mean that you're unrealistically optimistic.
Vocabulary lists containing starry
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They found Rich Starry faked its signal for more than 10 days until it tried to leave the Persian Gulf on Tuesday—giving it the opportunity to load up on Iranian oil products in that period.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
A Chinese tanker, the Rich Starry, also crossed the strait overnight from Monday to Tuesday via the Iranian-approved vetting route south of Larak Island.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
The lemon-lime soda giant on Tuesday was named the official soft drink of the league, taking over from PepsiCo’s rival citrus brand Starry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
The background of the artwork echoes Van Gogh's Starry Night with two suns hanging in the sky that aim to represent the meeting of the two artists and their styles.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025
It's a good thing I have Starry in my corner.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
