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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Star Wars

Kennedy ended a 14-year run as president of Lucasfilm in January, a changing of the guard at the Star Wars studio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Her director, who seems preoccupied with grass and trees and skies at the expense of people, has made a film almost completely bereft of wit, which is like a Star Wars movie without laser guns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

A man who appealed for help to no longer sound like a "character from Star Wars" says he has found his calling.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Then he paid high school students to write on the papyrus using passages from "Star Wars," the Bible, and a quote from the 1960s science fiction television show "The Outer Limits."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

“You know, for a moment in Star Wars Apocrypha, Han was actually married to a Wookiee, but does anyone freak out about that?”

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

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