horoscope

IPA/ˈhɒrəskəʊp/
KK[hˈɔrəskˌop]IPA/ˈhɔːrəskəʊp/

horoscope — noun

  • horoscopesingular
  • horoscopesplural

1. a short written prediction about someone's future, worked out from where the sun

1.nounB2
Definition

a short written prediction about someone's future, worked out from where the sun, moon, and planets were in the sky on the day that person was born.

Example

Theo reads his horoscope in the newspaper every Sunday morning over coffee.

read + possessive + horoscope (everyday habit pattern)

Jessica's horoscope warned her to avoid arguments with close family this week.

[possessor]'s horoscope warned + clause (typical predictive frame)

Common collocations
  • daily horoscope
  • weekly horoscope
  • read your horoscope
  • your horoscope says
Synonyms
  • forecast

    general word for any prediction; 'horoscope' is specifically astrological

  • stars

    informal: 'read your stars' means read your horoscope, especially in a newspaper

Grammar Patterns

read one's horoscope

check the horoscope

Usage Note

Almost always countable: 'a horoscope', 'my horoscope', 'today's horoscope'. Common verbs are 'read', 'check', and (of the horoscope itself) 'predict', 'warn', 'promise', 'say'.

Common Mistakes

I read my horoscope of today.
I read my horoscope for today.
use 'for' with a time period, not 'of'.
She believes in horoscope.
She believes in horoscopes.
when speaking in general, use the plural.

2. a circular diagram that an astrologer draws to show where every planet sat in th

2.nounC1
Definition

a circular diagram that an astrologer draws to show where every planet sat in the sky at the exact moment of a person's birth, then reads to describe that person's character and likely future.

Example

The astrologer drew up a detailed horoscope for the newborn baby of the Watanabe family.

draw up + a horoscope + for [person] (technical creation collocation)

Bao studied the horoscope on the wall, trying to read what each symbol meant.

horoscope as visible chart object (concrete artifact reading)

Common collocations
  • draw up a horoscope
  • cast a horoscope
  • birth horoscope
  • natal horoscope
Synonyms
  • natal chart

    more technical name for the same diagram used by serious astrologers

  • birth chart

    everyday term for a horoscope drawn for the moment of birth

Grammar Patterns

draw up a horoscope

cast a horoscope

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names the underlying chart that astrologers draw and interpret; sense 1 names the short prediction printed for the reader. The verbs differ — you 'draw up' or 'cast' a horoscope (sense 2), but you 'read' a horoscope (sense 1).

Common Mistakes

The astrologer wrote my horoscope on paper.
The astrologer drew up my horoscope on paper.
for the chart sense, the standard verbs are 'draw up' or 'cast', not 'write'.

Word family

  • horoscopic
    adjectiveC2
  • astrology
    nounB2
  • astrologer
    nounB2
  • astrological
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a statement about the future, but they differ in scope and authority. A 'horoscope' is always astrological — its claims rest on the position of the stars and planets, and it is usually personal, tied to your star sign or birth date. A 'forecast' is much broader and more everyday: weather forecasts, economic forecasts, sales forecasts; the word suggests careful study of present trends. A 'prediction' is the most neutral term — any guess about what will happen, from a friend's casual remark to a scientist's careful model. A 'prophecy' carries religious or supernatural weight, often grand and long-term, the kind of saying that turns up in old texts. So you read your horoscope on Sunday, you check the weather forecast on Monday, you make a prediction about Friday's match, and you remember a famous prophecy from centuries ago.

horoscope ↗forecast ↗prediction ↗prophecy ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • horoscope reading
  • horoscope column

Phrases

  • check one's horoscope
  • believe in horoscopes

Prepositions

  • horoscope for [time / person]
  • according to one's horoscope

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Horoscope reached English in the sixteenth century, borrowed through French and Latin from the Greek word horoskopos, literally 'hour-watcher': a combination of hora ('time, hour') and skopos ('watcher, observer'). The original idea was someone who carefully observes the heavens at a particular hour — especially the hour of a person's birth — so that the position of the planets can be read.