star: Meaning and Definition of

star

Pronunciation: (stär), [key]
— n., adj., v., starred, star•ring.
—n.
  1. any of the heavenly bodies, except the moon, appearing as fixed luminous points in the sky at night.
  2. any of the large, self-luminous, heavenly bodies, as the sun, Polaris, etc.
  3. any heavenly body.
  4. 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.
    1. a gem having the star cut.
    2. the asterism in a crystal or a gemstone, as in a star sapphire.
    3. a crystal or a gemstone having such asterism.
    4. Seestar facet.
  8. an asterisk.
  9. a person who is celebrated or distinguished in some art, profession, or other field.
  10. a prominent actor, singer, or the like, esp. one who plays the leading role in a performance.
  11. See
    1. 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.
    2. a silver star worn in place of five gold or bronze stars.
  12. a white spot on the forehead of a horse.
    1. a mullet.
  13. 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.
  14. to acknowledge one's good fortune; be grateful: Instead of complaining about hospital bills she should thank her lucky stars she's still alive.
—adj.
  1. celebrated, prominent, or distinguished; preeminent: a star basketball player; a star reporter.
  2. of or pertaining to a star or stars.
—v.t.
  1. to set with or as with stars; spangle.
  2. to feature as a star: an old movie starring Rudolph Valentino .
  3. to mark with a star or asterisk, as for special notice.
—v.i.
  1. to shine as a star; be brilliant or prominent.
  2. (of a performer) to appear as a star: He starred in several productions of Shaw's plays.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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