Star Wars

American

noun

a U.S. weapons research program begun in 1984 to explore technologies, including ground- and space-based lasers, for destroying attacking missiles and warheads.

Star Wars British

noun

Formal name: Strategic Defense Initiative. SDI. (in the US) a proposed system of artificial satellites armed with lasers to destroy enemy missiles in space
(modifier; sometimes not capitals) of, relating to, or denoting this system

Star Wars defence
star wars policy

"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

Star Wars ¹ Cultural

A series of popular science fiction motion pictures created by George Lucas. The first trilogy debuted in 1977 with Star Wars: A New Hope. The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi followed in the 1980s. Prequels, Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, were recently released. The films are noted for combining classic themes of good versus evil with cutting-edge special effects.

Star Wars ² Cultural

A popular name, taken from the title of a film, for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of President Ronald Reagan. “Star Wars” involves the development by the United States of a defense in outer space against intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Etymology

Origin of Star Wars

C20: popularly named after the science fiction film Star Wars (1977) by George Lucas

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:

Star Wars

My 8-year-old Lego-maniac son waited with bated breath for two new Lego Smart Play Star Wars sets—Luke’s X-wing and Darth Vader’s TIE fighter—to come in the mail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Filmmaker Lucas scored a global hit when the swashbuckling sci-fi movie Star Wars was released in 1977, creating a cultural phenomenon and enduring franchise.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

She was ecstatic when Andor, a Disney+ Star Wars spin-off series, was filmed on the seafront and has turned the town into an attraction for Star Wars fans from across the world.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

"The sky was like Star Wars," she said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Know Star Wars stuff?” he answered, slipping the thing over my head.

From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023