Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A celestial body that generates light and other radiant energy and consists of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity in which the energy generated by nuclear reactions in the interior is balanced by the outflow of energy to the surface, and the inward-directed gravitational forces are balanced by the outward-directed gas and radiation pressures.
  • noun Any of the celestial bodies visible at night from Earth as relatively stationary, usually twinkling points of light.
  • noun Something regarded as resembling such a celestial body.
  • noun A graphic design having five or more radiating points, often used as a symbol of rank or merit.
  • noun An artistic performer or athlete whose leading role or superior performance is acknowledged.
  • noun One who is highly celebrated in a field or profession.
  • noun An asterisk (*).
  • noun The star key on a telephone.
  • noun A white spot on the forehead of a horse.
  • noun A planet or constellation of the zodiac believed in astrology to influence personal destiny.
  • noun The future; destiny. Often used with the.
  • adjective Outstanding or famous, especially in performing something.
  • adjective Of or relating to a star or stars.
  • intransitive verb To ornament with stars.
  • intransitive verb To award or mark with a star for excellence.
  • intransitive verb To mark with an asterisk.
  • intransitive verb To present or feature (a performer) in a leading role.
  • intransitive verb To play the leading role in a theatrical or film production.
  • intransitive verb To do an outstanding job; perform excellently.
  • idiom (have stars in (one's) eyes) To be dazzled or enraptured, as with romantic love.
  • idiom (see stars) To experience bright, flashing sensations, as from a blow to the head.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cut with radiating incisions: said with reference to a chronic ulcer which may be so cut through the base and edges in order to loosen up adhesions, and so promote healing.
  • noun A book-name for humming-birds of the genus Calothorax, Oreotrochilus, and related genera.
  • To set with stars, literally or figuratively.
  • Hence— To set with small bright bodies, as gems, spangles, or the like.
  • To set with figures of stars forming a sowing or sprinkle.
  • To transform into a star or stars; set in a constellation.
  • To affix a star or asterisk to (a written or printed word) for a distinctive purpose, especially, in a list, to distinguish the name of a deceased person.
  • To crack so as to produce a group of radiating lines.
  • To shine as a star; be brilliant or prominent; shine above others; specifically (theat), to appear as a star actor.
  • In the game of pool, to buy an additional life or lives.
  • noun An ancient name for all deeds, releases, or obligations of the Jews, and also for a schedule or inventory. See starchamber. Also spelled starr.
  • noun Any celestial body which appears as a luminous point.
  • noun Hence Destiny.
  • noun Anything which resembles a star.
  • noun Specifically— A star-shaped figure made of silver, gold, or both, sometimes set with jewels, worn usually upon the breast as one of the insignia of a higher class of an honorary order. See insignia, and cuts under bath, garter, and Order of St. Michael (under order).
  • noun The asterisk (*). See asterisk.
  • noun In pyrotechny, a small piece of inflammable composition, which burns high in air with a colored flame, and presents the appearance of a star.
  • noun A group of cracks or flaws radiating from a center.
  • noun A spot of white or light color on the forehead of an animal.
  • noun In zoology: A star-animal; a starfish, or other echinoderm of obviously radiate figure, as a brittle-star, feather-star, lily-star, sand-star, or sun-star. See the compounds.
  • noun A stellate sponge-spicule; an aster.
  • noun In a copper-plate or lithographic printing-press, the radial spokes on the roller, which serve as handles.
  • noun Figuratively, a person of brilliant or attractive qualities; one who shines preëminently; specifically, the chief and preëminent actor or actress of a dramatic or operatic company.
  • noun In heraldry, same as estoile.
  • noun In fortification, a small fort having five or more points, or salient and reëntering angles flanking one another. Also called star-fort.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra; see ster- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra ("star"), from West Germanic *sterro, from Proto-Germanic *sternô, *sternōn (“star”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”). Cognate with Scots ster ("star"), North Frisian steer ("star"), West Frisian stjer ("star"), Dutch ster ("star"), German Stern ("star"), Swedish stjärna ("star"), Icelandic stjarna ("star"), Latin stēlla ("star"), Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astēr, "star").

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Examples

  • When the sea of bodies finally parted, it made sense: two Gossip Girl guys + one movie star + one television star+ one Olsen twin = total chaos.

    the latest from teenvogue.com 2010

  • [Footnote 238: "At night the savages direct their course by the polar star; they call it the _motionless star_.

    The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1 of 2) George Warburton 1836

  • There was a time, not so long ago, when the term "star hedge-fund manager" had a legitimate place in the investment lexicon.

    Hedge Funds' Fading Star Anuj Gangahar 2011

  • Whatever their words for stars in the sky, speakers of Turkish, Portuguese, German, and other tongues turn to native-language media outlets named partly or entirely in Global English, often putting the word star in the limelight.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • Whatever their words for stars in the sky, speakers of Turkish, Portuguese, German, and other tongues turn to native-language media outlets named partly or entirely in Global English, often putting the word star in the limelight.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • Jennifer Garner is going from super-spy to super-sleuth: The Alias star will play Miss Marple in a new adaptation of Agatha Christie's crime novels, according to Deadline.

    Jennifer Garner Giving Miss Marple a Young Makeover 2011

  • Even though the title star is Aquaman, this story is more from Aqualad's point of view--we get to read what young Garth is thinking, while Aquaman's plans to combat the now-giant sea creatures are as unknown to us as they are to Aqualad.

    Showcase #31 - April 1961 rob! 2009

  • Even though the title star is Aquaman, this story is more from Aqualad's point of view--we get to read what young Garth is thinking, while Aquaman's plans to combat the now-giant sea creatures are as unknown to us as they are to Aqualad.

    Archive 2009-03-01 rob! 2009

  • Barnes & Noble, the country's largest book retailer as measured by sales, is so certain that the book will excite readers that it plans on giving the title star treatment, including stacking extensive copies in the front of its stores.

    Tragic Novel Hopes For Happy Ending 2008

  • Coming up, the story that brings new meaning to the term star-crossed lovers.

    CNN Transcript Feb 6, 2007 2007

  • The other repetition operator supported by Ohm is the Kleene star (*), which matches an expression zero or more times.

    Ohm: Parsing Made Easy Patrick Dubroy, co-author of Ohm 2023

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