superstar
Americannoun
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superstars
plural
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a person, such as a performer or athlete, who enjoys wide recognition, is esteemed for exceptional talent, and is eagerly sought after for their services.
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any very prominent or successful person or thing.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of superstar
Explanation
A superstar is someone who's either very famous or extremely good at what they do. Legendary baseball player Babe Ruth was the first person called a superstar in print, around 1920. You might think of a superstar as a popular musician, like Taylor Swift, or maybe a famous actor or well-known athlete. It's true, Jackie Chan and LeBron James and Serena Williams all qualify as superstars, but if you're really good at what you do, you're a superstar too. If your brownies are the most delicious your family has ever tasted, you're a superstar baker.
Vocabulary lists containing superstar
Willie Mays (1931–2024) Tribute List
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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:
And that system is founded not on one superstar but on a perfectly synced collective.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Legendary actor Sir Patrick Stewart rose from humble beginnings in his native Yorkshire to become a global superstar whose work became immortalised portraying characters on some of the most popular sci-fi franchises in history.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga have apologised for the superstar striker's comments about Mao Zedong, but the damage to their reputation in China won't be easily or quickly repaired, experts say.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Their decision to part ways with the home comes just one year after they bought it back from tennis superstar Naomi Osaka for $7.9 million—three years after selling the property to her.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Bobby loved Yugoslavia because of the superstar status accorded him by its chess adherents, and, on a delightful autumnal day, he entered the tournament hall at Lake Bled primed to play.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
London City Lionesses are clearly no minnows, but even a squad full of superstars needs time to gel.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
With explosive shot-making, relentless endurance and indomitable spirit, he barrelled past the trio of superstars on his way to winning his trio of majors.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
He says the Dodgers have a “split personality”—one part dedicated to wringing every last drop from their aging superstars and the other with an eye on the future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Prolific costume designer Bob Mackie, whose dynamic sparkling and fringed creations dressed pop culture superstars such as Cher, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus, has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
A dozen or more superstars would be framed and hung on one wall of Hoo's On First.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
