starry
Americanadjective
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filled, covered with, or illuminated by stars
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of, like, or relating to a star or stars
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of starry
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at star, -y 1
Explanation
Starry things are either full of stars, like the starry night sky, or they look like stars, like the starry white flowers in your garden. An astronaut may have the chance to look out at the starry universe or distant, starry galaxies—and you can do this too, if you have a powerful telescope. The adjective starry almost always describes the night sky, unless a poet describes starry eyes or starry fields of flowers. If someone calls you starry-eyed, they mean that you're unrealistically optimistic.
Vocabulary lists containing starry
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.
A sanctioned Chinese oil tanker, the Rich Starry, masked its location for over 10 days before making an abrupt U-turn near Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
The Rich Starry, a sanctioned Chinese oil and chemical tanker, masked its exact location in the Persian Gulf for more than 10 days before leaving through the Strait of Hormuz this week.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
A report from Reuters found that the tanker Rich Starry ran the blockade after first appearing to turn around in the Strait.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026
A Chinese tanker, the Rich Starry, also crossed the strait overnight from Monday to Tuesday via the Iranian-approved vetting route south of Larak Island.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
It must have been a slip of the tongue, because Starry would never hurt me.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
