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Synonyms

shooting star

American  

noun

  • shooting stars
    plural
  1. meteor.

  2. Also called prairie pointer, American cowslip. any of several North American plants of the genus Dodecatheon, especially D. meadia, having pink or white flowers with reflexed petals and stamens forming a pointed beak.


shooting star British  

noun

  1. an informal name for meteor

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of shooting star

First recorded in 1585–95

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.

See Examples For:

"You would have to get very, very lucky to see a shooting star during the total eclipse," Royal Astronomical Society research fellow Dr Becky Smethurst said.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

But even there, the chances are extremely slim, "you would have to get very, very lucky to see a shooting star during the total eclipse," Dr Smethurst said.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The first peak featured a bearish shooting star followed by a doji during the final two weeks of 2024, warning that upside momentum was beginning to fade.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

Resistance occurred Aug. 20, marked by a bearish shooting star, and Oct.

From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026

Unseen, on the edges of the undulating buttes, deer and wild turkeys stirred and every now and then the night burst alive with a shooting star that left a delicate and misty trail.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

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