stellar
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the stars; consisting of stars.
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like a star, as in brilliance, shape, etc.
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pertaining to a preeminent performer, athlete, etc.
adjective
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of, relating to, involving, or resembling a star or stars
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of or relating to star entertainers
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informal outstanding or immense
companies are registering stellar profits
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stellar
First recorded in 1650–60; from Late Latin stellāris, from stell(a) “star” ( see also star) + -āris -ar 1
Explanation
Meaning outstanding, wonderful, better than everything else, stellar is a word of praise or excitement. Thomas Edison invented many things, but his stellar achievement might have been the light bulb. Stellar literally means "like a star." When it comes time for your debut on Broadway, you will sure hope that the reviews say that you delivered a stellar performance. You could also use stellar to talk about actual stars, of course, or you could even blend the two: enjoy the stellar beauty of your beloved under the stellar light of a moonless night.
Vocabulary lists containing stellar
Oh, My Stars! The Language of Outer Space
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Oh, My Stars! A Solstice Sampler
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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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.
The disclosure followed a stellar earnings announcement by the Texas rocket, internet and AI company that easily beat analysts net-income estimates of $1.88 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Although this represents a relatively small percentage, it suggests that enormous numbers of strangely colored stellar remnants exist across the cosmos.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
The Sierra Canyon High alumnus sank three three-pointers in a stellar debut for his hometown team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
While Dell “is fairly aligned with the AI trade,” he attributed most of its stellar stock performance to its ability to offset memory prices.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
He assumed that being a stellar student would make him a target.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
