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

She loves “romantic songs,” and is especially fond of “Sapphire,” a collaboration with the Indian star Arijit Singh.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

And on third down, Lonergan lofted a pass to star receiver KJ Duff, who caught it over cornerback Jontez Williams and still managed to get a foot down for an 11-yard score.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Overnight, the “My Life on the D-List” and “Fashion Police” star transformed into a national traitor.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

One featured K-pop star Karina clutching a pair of the brand’s classic high-top black sneakers by her side and wearing a white skirt, with a star spotlight in center frame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

The guinea pigs across the hilltops, the fairies in the grove, and flying on a real shooting star.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Stay for ’90s heartthrob Josh Hartnett, who stars as a grizzled fisherman whose town is beset by a sea monster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

American sprint stars Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson were among the champions amid a party atmosphere which featured a live track-side DJ.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

De Palma’s follow-up opened nine years later with a cast stacked with rising Hollywood stars, including Scarlett Johansson, Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

Among the many ironies of all this is that newly rich sports stars and celebrities have the least reason to gamble on obscure get-rich-quick schemes.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

They sat on the beach in the dark to study the stars, and climbed cliffs to see birds in their nests.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

On Halloween 2018, she also guest starred in the live episode of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's Inside No.9, titled Dead Line.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 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

Before he spent nine seasons as a major-league outfielder, Venable majored in anthropology at Princeton, where he starred in baseball and basketball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Network stalwart Mariska Hargitay, who’s starred in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for 27 seasons, will host the show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Bo starred in a promotional video for the Easter Egg Roll.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Muniz is best known for his titular starring role in the beloved Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” which ran for seven seasons in the early aughts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Sense and Sensibility has been adapted for screen countless times before - including the hit 1995 film starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The Apple TV+ show “Sugar,” starring Colin Farrell is an example, as is the recent A24 movie “The Drama.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

While previous movie adaptations of "Resident Evil" -- such as those starring Milla Jovovich -- were more action movies, Cregger went all-in on horror for the latest edition.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

The film, starring state COs, was a primer on how not to let inmates manipulate you for their own ends and make a fool or a criminal out of you.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Related Words

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