star definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms

Nearby Entries

star - 11 dictionary results

star

[stahr]

,noun, adjective, verb, starred, star⋅ring.

Use star in a Sentence

–noun

1.	any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.

2.	Astronomy. any of the large, self-luminous, heavenly bodies, as the sun, Polaris, etc.

3.	any heavenly body.

4.	Astrology. a heavenly body, esp. a planet, considered as influencing humankind and events.

5.	a person's destiny, fortune, temperament, etc., regarded as influenced and determined by the stars.

6.	a conventionalized figure usually having five or six points radiating from or disposed about a center.

7.	this figure used as an ornament, award, badge, mark of excellence, etc.: The movie was awarded three stars.

Jewelry.

a.	a gem having the star cut.

b.	the asterism in a crystal or a gemstone, as in a star sapphire.

c.	a crystal or a gemstone having such asterism.

d.	star facet.

9.	Printing. an asterisk.

10.	a person who is celebrated or distinguished in some art, profession, or other field.

11.	a prominent actor, singer, or the like, esp. one who plays the leading role in a performance.

12.	U.S. Military. battle star.

13.

U.S. Navy.

a.	a gold or bronze star worn on the ribbon of a decoration or medal to represent a second or subsequent award of the same decoration or medal.

b.	a silver star worn in place of five gold or bronze stars.

14.	a white spot on the forehead of a horse.

15.	Heraldry. a mullet.

–adjective

16.	celebrated, prominent, or distinguished; preeminent: a star basketball player; a star reporter.

17.	of or pertaining to a star or stars.

–verb (used with object)

18.	to set with or as with stars; spangle.

19.	to feature as a star: an old movie starring Rudolph Valentino.

20.	to mark with a star or asterisk, as for special notice.

–verb (used without object)

21.	to shine as a star; be brilliant or prominent.

22.	(of a performer) to appear as a star: He starred in several productions of Shaw's plays.

—Idioms

23.	make someone see stars, to deal someone a severe blow causing the illusion of brilliant streaks of light before the eyes: The blow on the head made him see stars, and the next thing he knew he was in the hospital.

24.	thank one's lucky stars, to acknowledge one's good fortune; be grateful: Instead of complaining about hospital bills she should thank her lucky stars she's still alive. Also, thank one's stars.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME sterre, OE steorra; c. OHG sterra; akin to OHG sterno, ON stjarna, Goth stairno, L stella, Gk ast

r, Skt stṛ

Related forms:

starless, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To star

star (stär)

1. A self-luminous celestial body consisting 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.
2. Any of the celestial bodies visible at night from Earth as relatively stationary, usually twinkling points of light.
3. Something regarded as resembling such a celestial body.
4. An artistic performer or athlete whose leading role or superior performance is acknowledged.
5. One who is highly celebrated in a field or profession.
6. An asterisk (*).
7. The star key on a telephone: For customer service, press star.
A graphic design having five or more radiating points, often used as a symbol of rank or merit.
1. An artistic performer or athlete whose leading role or superior performance is acknowledged.
2. One who is highly celebrated in a field or profession.
3. An asterisk (*).
4. The star key on a telephone: For customer service, press star.
1. An asterisk (*).
2. The star key on a telephone: For customer service, press star.
A white spot on the forehead of a horse.
A planet or constellation of the zodiac believed in astrology to influence personal destiny.
stars The future; destiny. Often used with the.

adj.

Outstanding or famous, especially in performing something: a star researcher; a star figure skater.
Of or relating to a star or stars.

v. starred, star·ring, stars

v. tr.

1. To ornament with stars.
2. To award or mark with a star for excellence.
To mark with an asterisk.
To present or feature (a performer) in a leading role.

v. intr.

To play the leading role in a theatrical or film production.
To do an outstanding job; perform excellently.

[Middle English sterre, from Old English steorra; see ster-³ in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Star

Star\ (st[aum]r), n. [OE. sterre, AS. steorra; akin to OFries. stera, OS. sterro, D. ster, OHG. sterno, sterro, G. stern, Icel. stjarna, Sw. stjerna, Dan. stierne, Goth. sta['i]rn[=o], Armor. & Corn. steren, L. stella, Gr. 'asth`r, 'a`stron, Skr. star; perhaps from a root meaning, to scatter, Skr. st[.r], L. sternere (cf. Stratum), and originally applied to the stars as being strewn over the sky, or as being scatterers or spreaders of light. [root]296. Cf. Aster, Asteroid, Constellation, Disaster, Stellar.]

1. One of the innumerable luminous bodies seen in the heavens; any heavenly body other than the sun, moon, comets, and nebul[ae].

His eyen twinkled in his head aright, As do the stars in the frosty night. --Chaucer.

Note: The stars are distinguished as planets, and fixed stars. See Planet, Fixed stars under Fixed, and Magnitude of a star under Magnitude.

2. The polestar; the north star. --Shak.

3. (Astrol.) A planet supposed to influence one's destiny; (usually pl.) a configuration of the planets, supposed to influence fortune.

O malignant and ill-brooding stars. --Shak.

Blesses his stars, and thinks it luxury. --Addison.

4. That which resembles the figure of a star, as an ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honor.

On whom . . . Lavish Honor showered all her stars. --Tennyson.

5. Specifically, a radiated mark in writing or printing; an asterisk [thus, *]; -- used as a reference to a note, or to fill a blank where something is omitted, etc.

6. (Pyrotechny) A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding in the air, presents a starlike appearance.

7. A person of brilliant and attractive qualities, especially on public occasions, as a distinguished orator, a leading theatrical performer, etc.

Note: Star is used in the formation of compound words generally of obvious signification: as, star-aspiring, star-bespangled, star-bestudded, star-blasting, star-bright, star-crowned, star-directed, star-eyed, star-headed, star-paved, star-roofed; star-sprinkled, star-wreathed.

Blazing star, Double star, Multiple star, Shooting star, etc. See under Blazing, Double, etc.

Nebulous star (Astron.), a small well-defined circular nebula, having a bright nucleus at its center like a star.

Star anise (Bot.), any plant of the genus Illicium; -- so called from its star-shaped capsules.

Star apple (Bot.), a tropical American tree (Chrysophyllum Cainito), having a milky juice and oblong leaves with a silky-golden pubescence beneath. It bears an applelike fruit, the carpels of which present a starlike figure when cut across. The name is extended to the whole genus of about sixty species, and the natural order (Sapotace[ae]) to which it belongs is called the Star-apple family.

Star conner, one who cons, or studies, the stars; an astronomer or an astrologer. --Gascoigne.

Star coral (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of stony corals belonging to Astr[ae]a, Orbicella, and allied genera, in which the calicles are round or polygonal and contain conspicuous radiating septa.

Star cucumber. (Bot.) See under Cucumber.

Star flower. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Ornithogalum; star-of-Bethlehem. (b) See Starwort (b) . (c) An American plant of the genus Trientalis (Trientalis Americana). --Gray.

Star fort (Fort.), a fort surrounded on the exterior with projecting angles; -- whence the name.

Star gauge (Ordnance), a long rod, with adjustable points projecting radially at its end, for measuring the size of different parts of the bore of a gun.

Star grass. (Bot.) (a) A small grasslike plant (Hypoxis erecta) having star-shaped yellow flowers. (b) The colicroot. See Colicroot.

Star hyacinth (Bot.), a bulbous plant of the genus Scilla (S. autumnalis); -- called also star-headed hyacinth.

Star jelly (Bot.), any one of several gelatinous plants (Nostoc commune, N. edule, etc.). See Nostoc.

Star lizard. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Stellion.

Star-of-Bethlehem (Bot.), a bulbous liliaceous plant (Ornithogalum umbellatum) having a small white starlike flower.

Star-of-the-earth (Bot.), a plant of the genus Plantago (P. coronopus), growing upon the seashore.

Star polygon (Geom.), a polygon whose sides cut each other so as to form a star-shaped figure.

Stars and Stripes, a popular name for the flag of the United States, which consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternately red and white, and a union having, in a blue field, white stars to represent the several States, one for each.

With the old flag, the true American flag, the Eagle, and the Stars and Stripes, waving over the chamber in which we sit. --D. Webster.

Star showers. See Shooting star, under Shooting.

Star thistle (Bot.), an annual composite plant (Centaurea solstitialis) having the involucre armed with radiating spines.

Star wheel (Mach.), a star-shaped disk, used as a kind of ratchet wheel, in repeating watches and the feed motions of some machines.

Star worm (Zo["o]l.), a gephyrean.

Temporary star (Astron.), a star which appears suddenly, shines for a period, and then nearly or quite disappears. These stars are supposed by some astronometers to be variable stars of long and undetermined periods.

Variable star (Astron.), a star whose brilliancy varies periodically, generally with regularity, but sometimes irregularly; -- called periodical star when its changes occur at fixed periods.

Water star grass (Bot.), an aquatic plant (Schollera graminea) with small yellow starlike blossoms.

Star

Star\ (st[aum]r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Starred (st[aum]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Starring.] To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle; as, a robe starred with gems. "A sable curtain starred with gold." --Young.

Star

Star\, v. i. To be bright, or attract attention, as a star; to shine like a star; to be brilliant or prominent; to play a part as a theatrical star. --W. Irving.

Language Translation for : star

Italian: stella,

German: der Stern,

Japanese: 恒星

More Translations »

star

An object in the sky that sends out its own light, generated by nuclear reactions in its center. There are many billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Note: Our own sun is a medium-sized star.

Note: Each star has a definite lifetime and dies when it uses up its supply of fuel. (See black hole, neutron star, supernova, and white dwarf.)

Note: All chemical elements heavier than helium are created in the center of stars and are returned to space when the star dies.

Note: New stars are forming constantly.

star (n.)

O.E. steorra, from P.Gmc. *sterron, *sternon (cf. O.S. sterro, O.N. stjarna, O.Fris. stera, Du. ster, O.H.G. sterro, Ger. Stern, Goth. stairno), from PIE *ster- (cf. Skt. star-, Hittite shittar, Gk. aster, astron, L. stella, Bret. sterenn, Welsh seren "star"). Astrological sense of "influence of planets and zodiac on human affairs" is recorded from c.1250; star-crossed is from "Romeo and Juliet" (1592). Stars as a ranking of quality for hotels, restaurants, etc. are attested from 1886, originally in Baedecker guides. Brass star as a police badge is recorded from 1859 (New York City). Starlight is c.1374; star-fruit (Damasonium stellatum) is first attested 1857; starfish first attested 1538; star-gazer is from 1560. Starry-eyed "unrealistically optimistic" is attested from 1936 (in "Gone With the Wind"). Starship first attested 1934 (in "Astounding Stories").

star (v.)

1824, "perform the lead part" (said of actors, singers, etc.), from star (n.). Sporting sense is from 1916. Starlet in Hollywood sense first recorded 1920.

Star

One of the four categories (quadrants) of the BCG growth-share matrix that represents the division within a company that has a large market share in a rapidly expanding industry.

Investopedia Commentary

A star requires investment capital to expand continually within a fast growing industry, thus maintaining its advantage. Should the industry mature with the star positioned as a leader, the star will transform into a cash cow.

star (stär) Pronunciation Key

A large, spherical celestial body consisting of a mass of gas that is hot enough to sustain nuclear fusion and thus produce radiant energy. Stars begin their life cycle as clouds of gas and dust called nebulae and develop, through gravitation and accretion, into increasingly hot and dense protostars. In order to reach the temperature at which nuclear reactions are ignited (about 5 million degrees K), a protostar must have at least 80 times the mass of Jupiter. For most of its life a star fuses hydrogen into helium in its core, during which period it is known as a dwarf star and is classed according to its surface temperature and luminosity (or spectral type) on a continuum called the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. When a star exhausts the hydrogen in its core, it typically develops into one of several non-main-sequence forms depending on how massive it is. Smaller stars, with masses less than eight times that of the Sun, become red giants and end their lives, after blowing away their outer layers, as white dwarfs. More massive stars become supergiants and end their lives, after exploding in a supernova, as either a neutron star or ablack hole.
Any of the celestial bodies visible to the naked eye at night as fixed, usually twinkling points of light, including binary and multiple star systems.

star

In addition to the idiom beginning with star, also see born under a lucky star; see stars; thank one's lucky stars.

Search another word or see star on Thesaurus | Reference

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us