star
/stɑːr/ (bre, ipa) · [stˈɑr] /stɑːr/ (ame, ipa) · [stˈɑr] /ˈstär/ (ame, mw) · /stɑː(r)/ (bre, ipa)
star — verb
- starpresent simple I / you / we / they
- stars3rd person singular
- starring-ing form
- starredpast simple
1. to act the leading character of a movie, theatre piece, or television show; also
to act the leading character of a movie, theatre piece, or television show; also said of the show itself, meaning that it gives that lead character to a specific performer.
Sayaka starred in a Japanese film about a deaf violinist who learns to dance.
intransitive: star in + [work]
The new spy thriller stars Jude Law as a retired agent dragged back into the field.
transitive: [work] stars [actor] as [role]
Christopher dreamed of starring in a Broadway musical ever since his school choir won a city prize.
Élise turned down the offer to star opposite a much older actor in the romance.
The cartoon, which stars a clumsy panda, has become popular with children across Asia.
- support
play a smaller role beside the lead
文法句型
star in + film/show
[film] + stars + [actor]
用法筆記
Subject pattern depends on transitivity: when intransitive, the subject is the actor and a 'in + work' phrase follows; when transitive, the subject is the film, show, or play and the object is the actor. Often paired with 'as' to name the role.
常見錯誤
star — noun
- starsingular
- starsplural
1. a huge ball of hot, glowing gas far out in space, which from Earth looks like a
a huge ball of hot, glowing gas far out in space, which from Earth looks like a tiny bright spot in the night sky.
Hana lay on the grass and counted the stars above her tent.
plural countable: stars in the sky
On a clear night in the desert, you can see thousands of stars.
typical setting: clear night, dark place
The Sun is the closest star to our planet.
Soraya's astronomy class watched a video showing how a star forms from a cloud of gas and dust.
Yara joined the Hubble team to track how one star changes over millions of years.
- sun
any star can be called a sun in poetic or sci-fi use; in everyday English 'sun' means our own star
文法句型
a/the + star
stars in the sky
用法筆記
Often plural in everyday talk about the night sky (look at the stars), singular when naming a specific one (a bright star, the North Star).
常見錯誤
2. someone who is widely known and admired for being very good at acting, music, sp
someone who is widely known and admired for being very good at acting, music, sport, or another public activity.
Christopher dreams of becoming a football star like the players he watches on TV.
[field] + star: football star, pop star, movie star
Reporters waited outside the hotel hoping to photograph the pop star.
Ziad was a tennis star in the 1990s and now coaches young players.
The film festival brought stars from all over Europe to the small town.
Eli started posting cooking videos online and slowly became a YouTube star.
- unknown
informal: an 'unknown' is a performer the public has not heard of
文法句型
a star of [field]
[field] + star
用法筆記
Frequently appears as a compound: 'pop star', 'movie star', 'rock star', 'football star'. The compound form is much more common than 'star of pop' or 'star of football'.
常見錯誤
3. the actor or performer who has the leading role in one specific movie, theatre p
the actor or performer who has the leading role in one specific movie, theatre piece, or TV series, with their name placed most prominently in the credits.
Élise was the star of the school play and her parents filmed every scene.
the star of [the play/film]
The two stars of the new spy film travelled to Tokyo to promote it.
plural: two stars (lead pair)
Tanvi played a small part before she became the star of a hit Netflix series.
Although the show had famous guests, the real star was the eight-year-old singer.
Posters at the cinema showed the star holding a silver pistol.
- extra
an actor with a tiny, often silent part in the background
文法句型
the star of [film/show]
用法筆記
Distinct from sense 2: a 'star' here means the lead role of one specific work, while sense 2 names a generally famous performer. Often used with the definite article 'the': 'the star of the film'.
常見錯誤
4. someone, or something, that clearly stands out as the strongest, most impressive
someone, or something, that clearly stands out as the strongest, most impressive, or most popular member within a team, class, company, or other group.
Nadia is the star of the maths class and helps the others before each test.
the star of the [class/team]
The chocolate cake was the star of the bakery's new menu.
non-human subject: a product/dish as the star
Mauricio joined the company last year and quickly became its star salesperson.
Among the puppies at the shelter, a small black one was clearly the star.
Their goalkeeper was the star of last weekend's match against the visiting team.
- standout
a person or thing that is clearly better than the rest; informal
- top performer
more neutral, common in workplace English
- weak link
the worst member, the one who lets the group down
文法句型
the star of [the team/class/department]
用法筆記
Often pre-modifies another noun: 'star pupil', 'star player', 'star witness'. Distinguish from sense 2 (publicly famous performer): the 'star' here may be unknown outside the small group.
常見錯誤
5. a flat figure with several sharp points sticking outward (usually five), often d
a flat figure with several sharp points sticking outward (usually five), often drawn, printed, or made as a decoration.
Sade cut yellow paper stars and stuck them all over her bedroom door.
decoration: paper / cardboard stars
The Christmas tree had a silver star at the top.
fixed phrase: a star at the top of the tree
Children in the kindergarten drew stars and rainbows on the wall.
The biscuits were baked in the shape of a star.
A red star is printed on the front of the soldier's cap.
- asterisk
specifically the typed symbol *, used in writing
文法句型
a star (shape)
in the shape of a star
用法筆記
Refers to the drawn or made shape, not the heavenly body in sense 1. Often appears with materials or colours: 'a paper star', 'a gold star', 'a wooden star'.
常見錯誤
6. a small star-shaped mark given to a hotel, restaurant, film, or product as part
a small star-shaped mark given to a hotel, restaurant, film, or product as part of a quality scale, where a higher number of stars signals better quality.
Inês booked a four-star hotel near the old town in Lisbon.
[number]-star + hotel/restaurant
The new pizza place earned five stars from almost every customer.
earn / receive [n] stars
Leo gave the film three stars out of five in his blog review.
The travel app only shows hotels with at least three stars.
Even small drops in cleanliness can cost a restaurant a star.
- rating
the broader term — stars are one common form of rating
文法句型
[number]-star + noun
a [n] star hotel/restaurant
用法筆記
Frequently hyphenated when modifying a noun: 'a five-star hotel', 'a two-star review'. Without a noun after, no hyphen is needed: 'The hotel has five stars.'
常見錯誤
7. a small star-shaped piece of metal or fabric pinned to a uniform to mark how sen
a small star-shaped piece of metal or fabric pinned to a uniform to mark how senior an officer in the army, police, or a similar service is.
The new general had four silver stars sewn onto each shoulder of his uniform.
stars + on/sewn onto + uniform
Officer Adaeze polished the gold star on her cap before the parade.
the star on [piece of uniform]
In many armies, a colonel who earns one more star becomes a brigadier.
Tomás saluted the officer with three stars on his collar.
The sheriff wore a six-pointed metal star pinned above his shirt pocket.
文法句型
a [number]-star [officer/general]
用法筆記
Subject is usually an officer, sheriff, or similar role; the noun is almost always plural when counting rank (one star, two stars, four stars), and singular when describing a sheriff's badge. Distinguish from sense 5 (a drawn or printed shape) — this sense refers to the physical metal or cloth object on a uniform.
常見錯誤
8. an informal name for the printed mark *, used in writing to point readers to a f
an informal name for the printed mark *, used in writing to point readers to a footnote, to mark something on a list, or to hide letters in a password.
Hana put a small star next to every word she still needed to memorise.
put a star next to [item]
Required fields on the form are marked with a red star next to each label.
passive: marked with a star
The footnote begins with a star and explains where the data comes from.
When Kofi typed his password, the screen showed only stars instead of letters.
Please put a star beside any name on the list you do not recognise.
- asterisk
the technical name; preferred in formal writing and grammar books
文法句型
mark/put a star next to/beside [item]
用法筆記
Often interchangeable with 'asterisk' in everyday speech, but 'star' is the casual word and 'asterisk' the technical one. Frequently appears with 'put', 'mark', 'add', or 'next to / beside / by'.
常見錯誤
9. in astrology, the planets and patterns in the night sky thought to shape someone
in astrology, the planets and patterns in the night sky thought to shape someone's luck, love life, or future — also used for the short forecast about them printed in a paper or magazine.
Imani believes the stars decide whether a marriage will last or fail.
the stars + verb (control / decide)
Mei's grandmother glanced at the chart and said her stars favoured a new business this month.
one's stars favour / oppose [activity]
Niran refused to sign the contract because his stars warned of money trouble.
Yusra's father often tells her to thank her lucky stars when something good happens by chance.
Putri reads her stars in the Sunday paper before she opens any other section.
文法句型
one's stars + verb
read one's stars (in a magazine/newspaper)
用法筆記
Almost always plural and almost always with a possessive ('my stars', 'her lucky stars'). Covers both the abstract astrological influence and the printed horoscope column — verbs that signal the printed-text use are 'read', 'check', and 'say'. More common in British English than American (which prefers 'horoscope'). Distinguish from sense 1 (the physical balls of burning gas) — here the focus is on supposed influence over human life, not the astronomical object itself.
常見錯誤
10. an affectionate name for a person you want to thank because they have been kind,
an affectionate name for a person you want to thank because they have been kind, brave, or extra helpful — used like a compliment, especially in everyday speech.
"Thanks for picking the kids up from school — you're a real star, Anjali."
you're a (real) star + thanks
Theo stayed late to finish my report; he's an absolute star.
absolute / total star
Marisol is such a star — she stayed late every night to finish the office holiday cards.
"Could you bring an extra chair? Oh, you're a star."
Aoi was a complete star during the move, lifting boxes nobody else wanted to touch.
文法句型
You're a star!
[Name] is a (real/total) star
用法筆記
Almost always after the indefinite article — 'a star', 'a real star', 'an absolute star'. Common in British everyday speech as a warm, slightly informal way to thank someone. Don't confuse with sense 2 (a famous performer): here the person is praised privately, not publicly known.
常見錯誤
star — adjective
- starpositive
- starrercomparative
- starrestsuperlative
1. used ONLY directly in front of a role noun (pupil, player, witness, reporter, st
used ONLY directly in front of a role noun (pupil, player, witness, reporter, striker, product) and combined with the indefinite article ('a star pupil', 'our star striker') to flag the named holder as the standout in that role; rejects predicative position after 'be' or 'seem', rejects an 'of [group]' phrase after it ('*a star of the team' takes noun/4 instead), and has no comparative or superlative form.
Putri is the star pupil of her violin class and plays at every school concert.
star + pupil: best learner in a class
The coach left the star striker on the bench because of a knee injury.
star + striker: top performer on a sports team
Kian was the star witness at the trial and spoke for almost two hours.
The bakery's star product is a chocolate cake topped with fresh raspberries.
Hiro became the star reporter at the newspaper after his story on the floods.
- leading
similar in 'leading actor / leading expert'; slightly more formal and less about fame.
- top
very close in meaning ('top student'); plainer and works in more contexts.
- outstanding
predicative-friendly ('the work is outstanding') where 'star' cannot go.
文法句型
star + noun (e.g. star pupil, star striker, star witness)
用法筆記
Syntactic test that separates this adjective from noun/4: this sense takes the pattern '[a/the] + star + [role noun]' with NO 'of' phrase after — 'a star pupil', 'the star striker', 'our star witness'. Noun/4 takes the opposite shape — 'the' + 'star' + 'of [group]' — as in 'the star of the team', 'the star of her class'. Therefore '*a star of the team' fails as adjective/1 (use noun/4: 'the star of the team'); '*she is star' fails because this sense rejects predicative position; switch to noun/4 for any 'be the star of …' sentence. No comparative or superlative form ('*more star', '*most star' impossible).