STAR (starred, starring)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: starred    , starring   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does star mean? 

• STAR (noun)
  The noun STAR has 8 senses:

1. (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior

2. someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field

3. any celestial body visible (as a point of light) from the Earth at night

4. an actor who plays a principal role

5. a plane figure with 5 or more points; often used as an emblem

6. a performer who receives prominent billing

7. a star-shaped character * used in printing

8. the topology of a network whose components are connected to a hub

  Familiarity information: STAR used as a noun is common.

• STAR (adjective)
  The adjective STAR has 1 sense:

1. indicating the most important performer or role

  Familiarity information: STAR used as an adjective is very rare.

• STAR (verb)
  The verb STAR has 3 senses:

1. feature as the star

2. be the star in a performance

3. mark with an asterisk

  Familiarity information: STAR used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

celestial body; heavenly body (natural objects visible in the sky)

Domain category:

astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "star"):

white dwarf; white dwarf star (a faint star of enormous density)

red giant; red giant star (a large, old, luminous star; has a relatively low surface temperature and a diameter large relative to the sun)

red dwarf; red dwarf star (a small, old, relatively cool star; approximately 100 times the mass of Jupiter)

nova (a star that ejects some of its material in the form of a cloud and becomes more luminous in the process)

neutron star (a star that has collapsed under its own gravity; it is composed of neutrons)

multiple star (a system of three or more stars associated by gravity)

loadstar; lodestar (guiding star; a star that is used as a reference point in navigation or astronomy)

giant; giant star (a very bright star of large diameter and low density (relative to the Sun))

fixed star (any star in the Ptolemaic theory of planetary motion)

sun (any star around which a planetary system revolves)

supergiant (an extremely bright star of very large diameter and low density)

binary; binary star; double star (a system of two stars that revolve around each other under their mutual gravitation)

supernova (a star that explodes and becomes extremely luminous in the process)

variable; variable star (a star that varies noticeably in brightness)

Instance hyponyms:

Sun (the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system)

Asterope; Sterope (one of the stars in the star cluster Pleiades)

Alpha Crucis (the brightest star in the Southern Cross)

Spica (the brightest star in Virgo)

Pollux (the brightest star in Gemini; close to Castor)

Denebola (a star in Leo approximately 43 light years from Earth)

Deneb (the brightest star in Cygnus)

Beta Crucis (the second brightest star in the Southern Cross)

Beta Centauri (the second brightest star in Centaurus)

Regulus (the brightest star in Leo)

Holonyms ("star" is a member of...):

constellation (a configuration of stars as seen from the earth)

extragalactic nebula; galaxy ((astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and dust)

Derivation:

starry (abounding with or resembling stars)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

ace; adept; champion; genius; hotshot; maven; mavin; sensation; star; superstar; virtuoso; whiz; whizz; wiz; wizard

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

expert (a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "star"):

track star (a star runner)

Derivation:

star (be the star in a performance)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any celestial body visible (as a point of light) from the Earth at night

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

celestial body; heavenly body (natural objects visible in the sky)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "star"):

starlet (a small star)

Derivation:

starry (abounding with or resembling stars)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An actor who plays a principal role

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

lead; principal; star

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

actor; histrion; player; role player; thespian (a theatrical performer)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "star"):

co-star (one of two actors who are given equal status as stars in a play or film)

film star; movie star (a star who plays leading roles in the cinema)

idol; matinee idol (someone who is adored blindly and excessively)

television star; TV star (a star in a television show)

Derivation:

star (be the star in a performance)

star (feature as the star)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A plane figure with 5 or more points; often used as an emblem

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

plane figure; two-dimensional figure (a two-dimensional shape)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "star"):

hexagram (a regular polygon formed by extending each of the sides of a regular hexagon to form two equilateral triangles)

asterism ((mineralogy) a star-shaped figure with six rays that is seen in some crystal structures under reflected or transmitted light)

pentacle; pentagram; pentangle (a star with 5 points; formed by 5 straight lines between the vertices of a pentagon and enclosing another pentagon)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A performer who receives prominent billing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

headliner; star

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

performer; performing artist (an entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience)

Derivation:

star (be the star in a performance)

star (feature as the star)

stardom (the status of being acknowledged as a star)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A star-shaped character * used in printing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

asterisk; star

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

character; graph; grapheme; graphic symbol (a written symbol that is used to represent speech)

Derivation:

star (mark with an asterisk)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The topology of a network whose components are connected to a hub

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

star; star topology

Hypernyms ("star" is a kind of...):

network topology; topology (the configuration of a communication network)

• STAR (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Indicating the most important performer or role

Synonyms:

leading; prima; star; starring; stellar

Context example:

a stellar performance

Similar:

major (of greater importance or stature or rank)

• STAR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they star    ... he / she / it stars   
Past simple: starred   
Past participle: starred   
-ing form: starring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feature as the star

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The movie stars Dustin Hoffman as an autistic man

Hypernyms (to "star" is one way to...):

feature; have (have as a feature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "star"):

co-star (feature as the co-star in a performance)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

star (a performer who receives prominent billing)

star (an actor who plays a principal role)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be the star in a performance

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "star" is one way to...):

do; execute; perform (carry out or perform an action)

Domain category:

dramatic art; dramatics; dramaturgy; theater; theatre (the art of writing and producing plays)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "star"):

co-star (be the co-star in a performance)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

star (someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field)

star (a performer who receives prominent billing)

star (an actor who plays a principal role)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Mark with an asterisk

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

asterisk; star

Context example:

Linguists star unacceptable sentences

Hypernyms (to "star" is one way to...):

mark (make or leave a mark on)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

star (a star-shaped character * used in printing)

 Context examples 

A snarl and a flash of fangs, and that dog would wail his indignation to the uncomforting stars while White Fang finished his portion for him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I shall no longer see the sun or stars or feel the winds play on my cheeks.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

It may also have a white tip on the tail, a white star on the chest, white on toes and/or a thin white line down the center of the face.

(Pharaoh Hound, NCI Thesaurus)

Nothing seemed to have survived that time but Agnes; and she, ever a star above me, was brighter and higher.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

This could work out to be an extraordinary four-star weekend.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Ah, Jim, you'll bless your stars, you will, you was the first that found me!

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

All you need is one star in the sky on a dirty night to know instantly where you are.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I swear, if you winnowed her out between the stars, like Tomlinson, there would be found in her not one original thought.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I looked at the blank wall: it seemed a sky thick with ascending stars,—every one lit me to a purpose or delight.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The red cores of the green bubbles are made of warm dust that has not yet been pushed away from the windy stars.

(Citizen Scientists Discover Yellow "Space Balls", NASA)