star

American  

[stahr] / stɑr /

noun

• stars
  plural

1. 

   any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.

2. Astronomy. any of the large, self-luminous, heavenly bodies, as the sun, Polaris, etc.

3. any heavenly body.

4. Astrology. a heavenly body, especially a planet, considered as influencing humankind and events.

5. a person's destiny, fortune, temperament, etc., regarded as influenced and determined by the stars.

6. a conventionalized figure usually having five or six points radiating from or disposed about a center.

7. this figure used as an ornament, award, badge, mark of excellence, etc..

   The movie was awarded three stars.

8. Jewelry.

   1. a gem having the star cut.

   2. the asterism in a crystal or a gemstone, as in a star sapphire.

   3. a crystal or a gemstone having such asterism.

   4. star facet.

9. Printing. an asterisk.

10. a person who is celebrated or distinguished in some art, profession, or other field.

11. a prominent actor, singer, or the like, especially one who plays the leading role in a performance.

12. U.S. Military. battle star.

13. U.S. Navy.

    1. a gold or bronze star worn on the ribbon of a decoration or medal to represent a second or subsequent award of the same decoration or medal.

    2. a silver star worn in place of five gold or bronze stars.

14. a white spot on the forehead of a horse.

15. Heraldry. a mullet.

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adjective

1. celebrated, prominent, or distinguished; preeminent.

   a star basketball player; a star reporter.

2. of or relating to a star or stars.

verb (used with object)

• stars,
  present (3rd person singular)
• starred,
  past participle,  past
• starring
  present participle

1. to set with or as with stars; spangle.

2. to feature as a star.

   an old movie starring Rudolph Valentino.

3. to mark with a star or asterisk, as for special notice.

verb (used without object)

• stars,
  present (3rd person singular)
• starred,
  past participle,  past
• starring
  present participle

1. to shine as a star; be brilliant or prominent.

2. (of a performer) to appear as a star.

   He starred in several productions of Shaw's plays.

idioms

1. make someone see stars, to deal someone a severe blow causing the illusion of brilliant streaks of light before the eyes.

   The blow on the head made him see stars, and the next thing he knew he was in the hospital.

2. thank one's lucky stars, to acknowledge one's good fortune; be grateful: Also thank one's stars.

   Instead of complaining about hospital bills she should thank her lucky stars she's still alive.

star British  

/ stɑː /

noun

1. any of a vast number of celestial objects that are visible in the clear night sky as points of light

2. 1. a hot gaseous mass, such as the sun, that radiates energy, esp as light and infrared radiation, usually derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior, and in some cases as ultraviolet, radio waves, and X-rays. The surface temperature can range from about 2100 to 40 000°C See also Hertzsprung-Russell diagram giant star white dwarf neutron star black hole

   2. ( as modifier )

      a star catalogue

3. astrology

   1. a celestial body, esp a planet, supposed to influence events, personalities, etc

   2. (plural) another name for horoscope

4. an emblem shaped like a conventionalized star, usually with five or more points, often used as a symbol of rank, an award, etc

5. a small white blaze on the forehead of an animal, esp a horse

6. Also called: star facet. any of the eight triangular facets cut in the crown of a brilliant

7. 1. a distinguished or glamorous celebrity, often from the entertainment world

   2. ( as modifier )

      star quality

8. another word for asterisk

9. (often capital) a type of keelboat, designed to be crewed by two people

10. slang:prison a convict serving his first prison sentence

11. to see or seem to see bright moving pinpoints of light, as from a blow on the head, increased blood pressure, etc

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verb

1. (tr) to mark or decorate with a star or stars

2. to feature or be featured as a star

   ``Greed'' starred Erich von Stroheim

   Olivier starred in ``Hamlet''

star Scientific  

/ stär /

1. A large, spherical celestial body consisting of a mass of gas that is hot enough to sustain nuclear fusion and thus produce radiant energy. Stars begin their life cycle as clouds of gas and dust called nebulae and develop, through gravitation and accretion, into increasingly hot and dense protostars. In order to reach the temperature at which nuclear reactions are ignited (about 5 million degrees K), a protostar must have at least 80 times the mass of Jupiter. For most of its life a star fuses hydrogen into helium in its core, during which period it is known as a dwarf star and is classed according to its surface temperature and luminosity (or spectral type) on a continuum called the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. When a star exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it typically develops into one of several non-main-sequence forms depending on how massive it is. Smaller stars, with masses less than eight times that of the Sun, become red giants and end their lives, after blowing away their outer layers, as white dwarfs. More massive stars become supergiants and end their lives, after exploding in a supernova, as either a neutron star or a black hole.

2. Any of the celestial bodies visible to the naked eye at night as fixed, usually twinkling points of light, including binary and multiple star systems.

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star Cultural  

1. An object in the sky that sends out its own light, generated by nuclear reactions in its center. There are many billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

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star More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing star

• born under a lucky star
• see stars
• thank one's lucky stars

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Discover More

Each star has a definite lifetime and dies when it uses up its supply of fuel. (See black hole, neutron star, supernova, and white dwarf.)

New stars are forming constantly.

All chemical elements heavier than helium are created in the center of stars and are returned to space when the star dies.

Our own sun is a medium-sized star.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• starless
  adjective
• starlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stars
  plural

Participles

• starring
  present
• starred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• star
  simple
• stars
  simple
• have starred
  perfect
• has starred
  perfect
• am starring
  progressive
• are starring
  progressive
• is starring
  progressive
• have been starring
  perfect progressive
• has been starring
  perfect progressive

Past

• starred
  simple
• had starred
  perfect
• was starring
  progressive
• were starring
  progressive
• had been starring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will star
  simple
• will have starred
  perfect
• will be starring
  progressive
• will have been starring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of star

First recorded before 900; Middle English sterre, Old English steorra; cognate with Old High German sterra; akin to Old High German sterno, Old Norse stjarna, Gothic stairno, Latin stella, Greek astḗr, Sanskrit stṛ

Explanation

A star twinkles in the night sky. To put it more scientifically, it’s a celestial body of hot gases radiating energy. A star is also a person who dazzles — the star of the show or the star archaeologist. If you're starring in a Broadway show, your name gets top billing — you've got the biggest part or maybe you're the best known performer, the actor people are wild to see, the one with the most "star power." If you believe in fate or astrology, you might "thank your lucky stars" for your good fortune. Star is the same root as the Greek aster, as in asterisk — a star symbol.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

star stars starred starring

The “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” star bought the Los Feliz estate for about $24.5 million in 2017, after filing for divorce from Brad Pitt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Country western star Wynonna Judd is confirming that she and her sister, Emmy Award-nominated actor Ashley Judd, do not have a relationship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

And that means Tuchel supplemented his striking options in Prague by deploying Real Madrid star Bellingham in a more advanced role than his normal midfield position after bringing him on for Kane.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Isaac Butler analyzes Pattinson’s evolution from teen heartthrob to oddball star.

From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026

The star was encased in a glass orb, spinning in place like it wanted to get free.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Steve Yoo, one of the country's biggest pop stars in the 1990s and early 2000s, was embroiled in a national scandal after he was found to have evaded military service in 2002.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Out in the audience, stars Matt Rife and Christine Ko, other actors, and the crew brave the festivalgoers and try to set up for the perfect multi-angled shots of the entrance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

But one of the biggest stars of The Traitors franchise is the venue - Ardross Castle.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

By the time national-team stars such as Gianluigi Buffon returned to Juve, the club had been banished to the second tier and stripped of two league titles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Glancing up through the branches, Torak saw the cold glint of stars.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

A pie shop owner who starred in The Apprentice has told Prime Minister Andy Burnham he is closing one of his three shops because of rising business costs.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Noth, 71, who famously starred as Mr. Big in the hit HBO series, is bidding farewell to the one-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom abode more than three decades after purchasing it in 1994.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

So, when Sepulveda Boulevard becomes the Sepulveda River in a few months, and the TV news reporters pull on those yellow rain slickers for “Stormwatch ‘26,” remember that L.A. has starred in this movie before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

In the years following the end of “The Cosby Show,” the performer starred in “Cosby” for CBS, which ran between 1996 and 2000, and one season of “The Cosby Mysteries” on NBC in 1994.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2018

McCandless starred and bracketed the paragraph and circled “refuge in nature” in black ink.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Projects include a 30-episode reality microdrama from Mike Fleiss called “Dateable” and a short film starring Kyra Sedgwick as a comforting AI hologram.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Matchbox: The Movie,” starring John Cena and based on Mattel’s toy-car brand, is scheduled to debut on Apple TV on Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

The decision marks a partial victory for Kenjiro Tsuda, known for his starring roles in mega-franchises including "Jujutsu Kaisen" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!"

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

It found global fame after featuring in a scene of the 1991 film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, and was popular with photographers and artists.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Many in the audience hooted as Maggie over-enunciated— raising her hands to heaven as if starring in some tragic play.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• celebrity
• favorite
• hero
• idol
• name
• superstar