starring

American  

[stahr-ing] / ˈstɑr ɪŋ /

adjective

1. featured or celebrated as a star in a movie, on a sports team, etc..

   He was already the starring quarterback on his high school football team, which was on its way to a state championship.

2. (of a character or role) leading, central, or primary.

   The earliest performance I can remember is when I played the starring role in a drama called The Littlest Angel at church.

   As the town’s largest employer, the university also plays a starring role in the local economy.

3. featuring a specified performer.

   They didn't give a beginner a starring movie when I started acting 18 years ago.

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Etymology

Origin of starring

star ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

Your attention-grabbing friend might be one who goes through life imagining it's a movie starring her. Starring means being the main character in a movie or play. Starring is an adjective that's used when someone's at the center of things, like a concert starring a famous cellist. The Greek word aster became the English word star, which was first used to mean "to be featured in a play" in the 1820s. If you imagine a star shining brightly in the dark night sky, it's easy to see how starring came to mean "being the most important on the stage."

Example Sentences

El Rey Theatre projectionist Tori Yorochko hoists a scepter prop that was featured in the 1963 movie “Cleopatra” starring Elizabeth Taylor.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Last year, the story was adapted for a Netflix film starring Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

In 2017, it was made into a feature film, starring Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

On your YouTube channel, the most popular video by far is a short film starring Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma as a martial arts fighter.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

Tycoon Howard Hughes made an appearance at the lab’s 1934 research conference, and Hollywood showed up at the airfield to shoot the 1938 movie Test Pilot, starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey, and Myrna Loy.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly