Word.ws English Dictionary

star

/stɑː(ɹ)//stɑɹ/

star noun: any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.

star: any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense...
Image: Henryk Kowalewski, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

star (plural stars)

  1. Any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.
    • He loved watching the stars in the sky with her.
    1. (typically in the plural) A planet thought to influence one's fate; (figuratively) fate or luck.
      • What's in the stars for you today? Find out in our horoscope.
      • star-crossed (meaning 'ill-fated')
  2. A very massive ball of plasma with strong enough gravity to have ongoing fusion of hydrogen or heavier elements in its core. In strict technical usage, the Sun is included.
  3. An asterisk (*) or comparable symbol (e.g., ★, ☆, ✶, ✦, ✧, ✷, ✪, ⭐) inspired by a celestial star.
    • Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but...1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714
  4. (figuratively) A network topology with multiple computers individually merging to one central switch, thus free of risk of collisions. A single point of failure can occur if the switch experiences corruption.
  5. A simple dance, or part of a dance, where a group of four dancers each put their right or left hand in the middle and turn around in a circle. You call them right-hand stars or left-hand stars, depending on the hand which is in the middle.
  6. (shapes) A star-shaped ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honour in a military. Now often used metonymically for military rankings.
    • […]on whom […] / Lavish Honour shower’d all her stars,[…]1852, Alfred Tennyson, “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 8, page 132
    • three-star general
  7. (shapes) A symbol used to rate hotels, films, etc. with a higher number of stars denoting better quality.
    • And the first music review I remember reading was in Rolling Stone, which rated albums on a scale of one to five stars, or so I thought. In 1990, the début solo album by Andrew Ridgeley, who had sung alongside George Michael in the pop duo Wham!, was awarded only half a star.2025 August 25, Kelefa Sanneh, “How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN
  8. An actor in a leading role.
    • Many Hollywood stars attended the launch party.
  9. An exceptionally talented or famous person, often in a specific field; a celebrity.
    • His teacher tells us he is a star pupil.
    • I met my favourite star at the public event.
  10. (figuratively) (Someone's) success or fame.
    • someone's star is rising / has risen
    • It’s only in hindsight that I’m able to appreciate just how high my star had risen. I’d gone from being the student who couldn’t speak in class to being the teacher of the language of a new age, from the child of modest, middle-class Beltway parents to the man living the island life and making so...2019 September 17, Edward Snowden, Permanent Record, New York, N.Y.: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN
  11. (Jamaica, Multicultural-London-English, broadly, African-American Vernacular) A friend, a mate, a pal.
    • "Wha'ppen, star!" Hector said, grinning to reveal a gold-capped tooth. He told everyone it was solid twenty-four carat, but if it was, he would have wrenched it out with pliers to pawn to the highest bidder by now.2003, Michael Maynard, Games Men Play, page 127
    • Hello claat, what you doing spar?[…]It's got three ring tones, that's the name for the ring. There's this one, right (ring tone sounds). That's fucking safe, spar. But mostly, I bought it for this, check this one out, claat!2003, “Soap Bar”, in The Manifesto, performed by Goldie Looking Chain
  12. A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.

Verb

star (third-person singular simple present stars, present participle starring, simple past and past participle starred)

  1. (intransitive) To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program.
    • She starred in dozens of silent movies.
    • I was inundated with invitations; […] I felt, indeed, much as a great actor must when he goes 'starring' in the provinces.1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major
  2. (transitive) To feature (a performer or a headliner), especially in a movie or an entertainment program.
    • The show stars Calista Flockhart as a high-powered lawyer.
    • "What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era, page 4
  3. (transitive) To mark with a star or asterisk.
    Synonyms:
    asterisk
  4. (transitive) To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle.
    • Thy gloomy Grandeurs (Nature’s moſt auguſt, / Inſpiring Aſpect!) claim a grateful Verſe; / And, like a ſable Curtain ſtarr’d with Gold, / Drawn o’er my Labours paſt, ſhall cloſe the Scene.1745, [Edward Young], “Night the Ninth and Last. The Consolation. Containing, among Other Things, I. A Moral Survey of the Nocturnal Heavens. II. A Night-Address to the Deity. […]”, in The Complaint...
  5. (intransitive) To shine like a star.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Star

Star (countable and uncountable, plural Stars)

  1. A surname.
  2. A female given name from English.
    • Emily Byrd Starr — Starr should be your first name. You look like a star—you have a radiant sort of personality shining through you— ... I think I shall call you Star.1923, Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Emily Starr Series; All Three Novels: Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest, Read Books Ltd, →ISBN
    • Stella was always an original. I don't think she went on to university but I'm sure she's doing something interesting with her life. She calls herself Star now.2019 February 7, Elly Griffiths, The Stone Circle: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 11, Hachette UK, →ISBN
  3. A hamlet in Lamont County, Alberta, Canada.
  4. A work settlement in the Dyatkovsky District, Bryansk Oblast, Russia.
  5. A village in the Maryovsky District, Novgorod Oblast, Russia.
  6. A hamlet in Shipham civil parish, Somerset, England.
  7. A small village in Fife council area, Scotland, also known as Star of Markinch.
  8. A hamlet in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
  9. A small settlement near the village of Gaerwen, Isle of Anglesey, Wales.
  10. A city in Idaho.
  11. An unincorporated community in Munising Township, Alger County, Michigan.
  12. An unincorporated community in Rankin County, Mississippi.
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. An unincorporated community in Holt County, Nebraska.
  2. A small town in Montgomery County, North Carolina.
  3. An unincorporated community in Mills County, Texas.
  4. (UK) Star class, a class of steam locomotives used on the GWR.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: STAR

STAR

  1. (Malaysia, abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Special Task and Rescue.
  2. (Singapore, abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Special Tactics and Rescue.
  3. (Philippines, abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Southern Tagalog Arterial Road.

Noun (2) capitalized: STAR

STAR (plural STARs)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of standard terminal arrival.

star meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

star in Hindi

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other
तारा tārā, सितारा sitārā
actor
सितारा sitārā
celebrity
स्टार sṭār, सितारा sitārā

star in Tamil

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other
நட்சத்திரம் naṭcattiram, விண்மீன் viṇmīṉ
asterisk
உடுக்குறி uṭukkuṟi
actor
நடிகர் naṭikar
celebrity
பிரபலம் pirapalam

star in Marathi

तारा, स्टार

star in Urdu

a celestial body appearing as a point of light on the clear night sky, whose position is relatively fixed with respect to each other
سِتارَہ sitāra, تارا tārā, تارَہ, اَخْتَر axtar
celebrity
سْٹار sṭār, اِسْٹار isṭār, سِتارَہ sitāra
More languagesFewer languages
star in Bengali
তারকা tarka, তারা tara, সিতারা śitara, আখতার akhtar
star in Telugu
నక్షత్రం nakṣatraṁ, తార tāra, చుక్క cukka
star in Malayalam
നക്ഷത്രം nakṣatraṁ, താരം tāraṁ
star in Kannada
ಚಿಕ್ಕೆ cikke
star in Punjabi
ਤਾਰਾ tārā, ਸਿਤਾਰਾ sitārā, تارا tārā, سِتارَہ sitāra
star in Gujarati
તારો tāro, સિતારો sitāro
star in Odia
ତାରା tārā
star in Sanskrit
तारा tārā, तारका tārakā, तारिका tārikā, नक्षत्र nakṣatra
star in Sinhala
තරුව taruwa
star in Assamese
তৰা tora
star in Nepali
तारा tārā
star in Pashto
ستوری stóray
star in Tagalog
bituin, tala, artista
star in Arabic
نَجْم najm, كوكب kawkab, نجمة negma, نَجْمَة najma
star in Malay
bintang
star in Indonesian
bintang
star in Persian
سِتَارَه sitāra, اَخْتَر axtar, سِتارِه setâre, سِتارِهٔ سینِما setâre-ye sinemâ
star in Thai
ดาว daao, ดาวฤกษ์ daao-rə̂ək, ดารา daa-raa
star in Vietnamese
sao
star in Myanmar
ကြယ် krai, မင်းသား mang:sa:
Sindhi
تارو tāro

Examples of star in a sentence

  • But O malignant and ill-boading Starres,[…]1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies...
  • Men bless their stars and call it luxury.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […]...
  • By the time we reached the house we were thanking our stars she had come.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...
  • Star reporter, leg-man, cub, veteran gray in the trade—one and all they tried to pin the Bat like a caught butterfly to the front page of their respective journals—soon or late each gave up, beaten.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, “The Shadow of the Bat”, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y....

All 40 example sentences with star

Synonyms of star

All synonyms of star

Forms of star

Noun
pluralstars
pluralSTARs
Verb
third-person singular presentstars
present participlestarring
past participlestarred
paststarred
Proper noun
pluralStars

Past tense of star: starred

Plural of star: stars

Origin of star

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra (“star”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterrō, variant of *sternō, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternǭ (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Doublet of aster; related to estoile, étoile, stella, and stelo. Cognates Cognate with Scots starn, ster (“star”), Yola starr, steor (“star”), Saterland Frisian Stiern (“star”), West Frisian stjer (“star”), Cimbrian stèrn (“star”), Dutch ster (“star”), German Stern (“star”), Luxembourgish Stär (“star”), Mòcheno stern (“star”), Vilamovian śtaom (“star”), Yiddish שטערן (shtern, “star”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål stjerne (“star”), Faroese stjørna (“star”), Gutnish stjännå (“star”), Icelandic stjarna (“star”), Norwegian Nynorsk skjødna, stjerne (“star”), Swedish stjärna (“star”), Crimean Gothic stein (“star”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐍉 (stairnō, “star”), French étoile (“star”), Istriot stila (“star”), Istro-Romanian ste (“star”), Italian stella (“star”), Megleno-Romanian steau̯ă (“star”), Mirandese streilha (“star”), Occitan estela (“star”), Portuguese estrela (“star”), Romansh staila (“star”), Romanian stea (“star”), Sardinian isteddu (“star”), Sicilian stidda (“star”), Spanish estrella...

* As a German and Jewish surname, from Star (“starling”). * Also as a German and Jewish surname, semantic loan from German Stern (“star”). * As a Dutch surname, from star (“stiff, rigid”). * As a Slovene surname, from star (“old”). * As an English given name, from star, sometimes originating as a nickname.

Abbreviation.

Words formed from star

Phrases with star

160 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with star

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about star

What does star mean?
Star means any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.
What is star in Hindi?
Star in Hindi is तारा (tārā), सितारा (sitārā), स्टार (sṭār). See Star meaning in Hindi.
How do you use star in a sentence?
But O malignant and ill-boading Starres,[…]
What part of speech is star?
Star can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce star?
Star is pronounced /stɑː(ɹ)/ (UK).
What is the plural of star?
The plural of star is stars.

Words near star in the dictionary

  1. Stapps
  2. staps
  3. Stapylton
  4. Stapyltons
  5. Staquet
  6. star
  7. star 69
  8. star 69ed
  9. star 69ing
  10. star 69s
  11. star anise

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: star (page history and authors); Star (page history and authors); STAR (page history and authors); star (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-star.ogg, en-us-star.ogg.

Cite this entry: “star.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/star. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.