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Synonyms

star system

American  

noun

  1. the practice of casting and promoting star performers for their ability to draw at the box office.

star system British  

noun

  1. astronomy a group of celestial bodies that are associated as a result of natural laws

  2. the practice of casting one or two famous actors or actresses in a film, play, etc, so that their popularity ensures its success

  3. a design for laying cables for cable television in which each house is fed by an individual cable from a local central distribution point

"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

Etymology

Origin of star system

First recorded in 1900–05

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.

And all those amazing Brazilian actors, most of them are not in the Brazilian star system of telenovelas.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026

Scientists have found strong evidence of a giant gas planet in the nearest star system to our own.

From BBC • Aug. 8, 2025

Meet the ‘hip’ star system HIP 67522, located 408 light years away from the Earth.

From Space Scoop • Jul. 17, 2025

Michelin, a French tyre manufacturer, has made a restaurant guide since 1900, with the star system introduced in 1926.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

Each star system is an island in space, quarantined from its neighbors by the light-years.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Definitions 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.