star : Idioms & Phrases

• noun perennial star grass of North America
  Hypoxis hirsuta.
  

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• noun any starfish-like animal of the genera Euryale or Astrophyton or Gorgonocephalus having slender complexly branched interlacing arms radiating from a central disc
  basket fish.
  

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• noun a system of two stars that revolve around each other under their mutual gravitation
  binary star; binary.
  

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• (Astron.), a double star whose members have a revolution round their common center of gravity.

Webster 1913

• noun biennial of southwestern United States having white stems and toothed leaves that is grown for its large pale yellow flowers that open in early morning
  Mentzelia laevicaulis; Mentzelia livicaulis.
  
• noun any of various North American plants of the genus Liatris having racemes or panicles of small discoid flower heads
  button snakeroot; snakeroot; gayfeather; gay-feather.
  

WordNet

• . (a) A comet. Obs. (b) A brilliant center of attraction. (c) (Bot.) A name given to several plants; as, to Chamælirium luteum of the Lily family; Liatris squarrosa; and Aletris farinosa, called also colicroot and star grass.

Webster 1913

• etc. See under Blazing, Double, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun subshrubs of southeastern United States forming slow-growing clumps and having blue flowers in short terminal cymes
  Amsonia tabernaemontana.
  

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• noun plant having ovate leaves in a basal rosette and white starlike flowers netted with green
  Parnassia palustris.
  

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• noun an animal resembling a starfish with fragile whiplike arms radiating from a small central disc
  brittle-star; brittle star.
  

WordNet

Brit"tle star`

Definitions

1. Any species of ophiuran starfishes. See Ophiuroidea.

Webster 1913

• noun an animal resembling a starfish with fragile whiplike arms radiating from a small central disc
  brittle-star; brittle star.
  

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• noun a United States military decoration awarded for meritorious service (except in aerial flight)
  Bronze Star.
  

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• noun a United States military decoration awarded for meritorious service (except in aerial flight)
  Bronze Star.
  

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• noun tropical American plant having poisonous milk and showy tapering usually scarlet petallike leaves surrounding small yellow flowers
  lobster plant; Euphorbia pulcherrima; painted leaf; Mexican flameleaf; poinsettia; Christmas flower.
  

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• noun one of two actors who are given equal status as stars in a play or film
  
• verb feature as the co-star in a performance
  
• verb be the co-star in a performance
  

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• (Zoöl.) a pentagonal starfish belonging to Goniaster, Astrogonium, and other allied genera; so called from its form.

Webster 1913

Day"-star` noun

Definitions

1. The morning star; the star which ushers in the day.

   A dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter i. 19.

2. The sun, as the orb of day. Poetic

   So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed, And yet anon repairs his drooping head, And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore Flames in the forehead of the morning sky. Milton.

Webster 1913

• noun perennial of southeastern and central United States having very dense spikes of purple flowers; often cultivated for cut flowers
  Liatris pycnostachya.
  

WordNet

• the amount by which their apparent diurnal motion exceeds that of the sun, in consequence of which they daily come to the meridian of any place about three minutes fifty-six seconds of solar time earlier than on the day preceding.

Webster 1913

• noun the brightest star in the sky; in Canis Major
  Sothis; Sirius; Canicula.
  

WordNet

Dog" Star`

Definitions

1. Sirius, a star of the constellation Canis Major, or the Greater Dog, and the brightest star in the heavens; -- called also Canicula, and, in astronomical charts, α Canis Majoris. See Dog days.

Webster 1913

• noun a system of two stars that revolve around each other under their mutual gravitation
  binary star; binary.
  

WordNet

• (Astron.), two stars so near to each other as to be seen separate only by means of a telescope. Such stars may be only optically near to each other, or may be physically connected so that they revolve round their common center of gravity, and in the latter case are called also binary stars.

Webster 1913

• noun a planet (usually Venus) seen at sunset in the western sky
  Hesperus; Vesper.
  

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• . (Astron.) See Shooting star.

Webster 1913

• noun free-swimming stalkless crinoid with ten feathery arms; found on muddy sea bottoms
  comatulid.
  

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• . (Zoöl.) See Comatula.

Webster 1913

• noun a star who plays leading roles in the cinema
  film star.
  

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• noun an admiral of the highest rank
  fleet admiral.
  

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• noun any star in the Ptolemaic theory of planetary motion
  fixed star.
  

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• noun any star in the Ptolemaic theory of planetary motion
  fixed star.
  

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• (Astron.), such stars as always retain nearly the same apparent position and distance with respect to each other, thus distinguished from planets and comets.

Webster 1913

• noun a red dwarf star in which luminosity can change several magnitudes in a few minutes
  

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

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• noun perennial grass having stems 3 to 4 feet high; used especially in Africa and India for pasture and hay
  Cynodon plectostachyum.
  

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• noun California plant having grasslike leaves and showy orange flowers
  golden star; Bloomeria crocea.
  

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• noun California plant having grasslike leaves and showy orange flowers
  golden star; Bloomeria crocea.
  

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• adjective satellite marked by or promising bad fortune
  ill-fated; doomed; unlucky; ill-omened.
  
  • their business venture was doomed from the start
  • an ill-fated business venture
  • an ill-starred romance
  • the unlucky prisoner was again put in irons"- W.H.Prescott

WordNet

Ill"-starred` adjective

Definitions

1. Fated to be unfortunate; unlucky; as, an ill-starred man or day.

Webster 1913

• . See under Unformed.

Webster 1913

• noun the second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of Mexico
  TX; Texas.
  

WordNet

• certain stars whose position is known, and the data in regard to which are used in observations for finding the longitude, as by lunar distances.

Webster 1913

• (Astron.), the rank of a star with respect to brightness. About twenty very bright stars are said to be of first magnitude, the stars of the sixth magnitude being just visible to the naked eye. Telescopic stars are classified down to the twelfth magnitude or lower. The scale of the magnitudes is quite arbitrary, but by means of photometers, the classification has been made to tenths of a magnitude.

Webster 1913

• noun a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky
  daystar; Phosphorus; Lucifer.
  

WordNet

• . (a) Any one of the planets (Venus, Jupiter, Mars, or Saturn) when it precedes the sun in rising, esp . Venus. Cf. Evening star, Evening. (b) Satan. See Lucifer.

  Since he miscalled the morning star, Nor man nor fiend hath fallen so far. Byron.

  (c) A weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes, either attached to a staff or suspended from one by a chain.

Webster 1913

• noun a star who plays leading roles in the cinema
  film star.
  

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• noun a system of three or more stars associated by gravity
  

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• (Astron.), several stars in close proximity, which appear to form a single system.

Webster 1913

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

Webster 1913

• noun a star that has collapsed under its own gravity; it is composed of neutrons
  

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• noun the brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it
  Polaris; polestar; polar star; North Star.
  

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• the star toward which the north pole of the earth very nearly points, and which accordingly seems fixed and immovable in the sky. The star α (alpha) of the Little Bear, is our present north star, being distant from the pole about 1° 25', and from year to year approaching slowly nearer to it. It is called also Cynosura, polestar, and by astronomers, Polaris.

Webster 1913

• noun a midwestern state
  Gopher State; MN; Minnesota.
  

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• noun singer of lead role in an opera
  opera star.
  

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• noun singer of lead role in an opera
  opera star.
  

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• (Astron.), a variable star whose changes of brightness recur at fixed periods.

Webster 1913

• noun the brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it
  Polaris; polestar; polar star; North Star.
  

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• noun the brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it
  Polaris; polestar; polar star; North Star.
  

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• noun plant with mostly basal leaves and slender open racemes of white or pale pink flowers; prairies and open forest of northwestern United States to British Columbia and Alberta
  Lithophragma parviflorum.
  

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• noun a small, old, relatively cool star; approximately 100 times the mass of Jupiter
  red dwarf.
  

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

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• noun a famous singer of rock music
  

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• (Arch.), a single set of stairs, or section of a stairway, from one platform to the next.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), an ophiurioid starfish living on sandy sea bottoms; a brittle star.

Webster 1913

• noun echinoderms characterized by five arms extending from a central disk
  starfish.
  

WordNet

Sea" star`

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A starfish, or brittle star.

Webster 1913

• noun an animal resembling a starfish with fragile whiplike arms radiating from a small central disc
  brittle-star; brittle star.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), an ophiuran; a brittle star.

Webster 1913

• (Astron.), the Pleiades.

Webster 1913

• noun a streak of light in the sky at night that results when a meteoroid hits the earth's atmosphere and air friction causes the meteoroid to melt or vaporize or explode
  meteor.
  

WordNet

• . (a) (Astron.) A starlike, luminous meteor, that, appearing suddenly, darts quickly across some portion of the sky, and then as suddenly disappears, leaving sometimes, for a few seconds, a luminous train, called also falling star. Shooting stars are small cosmical bodies which encounter the earth in its annual revolution, and which become visible by coming with planetary velocity into the upper regions of the atmosphere. At certain periods, as on the 13th of November and 10th of August, they appear for a few hours in great numbers, apparently diverging from some point in the heavens, such displays being known as meteoric showers, or star showers. These bodies, before encountering the earth, were moving in orbits closely allied to the orbits of comets. See Leonids, Perseids. (b) (Bot.) The American cowslip (Dodecatheon Meadia). See under Cowslip.

Webster 1913

• noun a United States military decoration for gallantry in action
  Silver Star.
  

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• noun a United States military decoration for gallantry in action
  Silver Star.
  

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• noun small tree of China and Vietnam bearing anise-scented star-shaped fruit used in food and medicinally as a carminative
  Illicium verum; Chinese anise.
  
• noun small shrubby tree of Japan and Taiwan; flowers are not fragrant
  Illicium anisatum.
  
• noun anise-scented star-shaped fruit or seed used in Asian cooking and medicine
  star anise; Chinese anise.
  

WordNet

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

Webster 1913

• noun anise-scented star-shaped fruit or seed used in Asian cooking and medicine
  star anise; Chinese anise.
  

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• noun evergreen tree of West Indies and Central America having edible purple fruit star-shaped in cross section and dark green leaves with golden silky undersides
  Chrysophyllum cainito; caimito.
  

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• (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 (Sapotaceæ) to which it belongs is called the Star-apple family.

Webster 1913

• noun rhizomatous begonia having leaves with pointed lobes suggestive of stars and pink flowers
  Begonia heracleifolia; star begonia.
  

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• noun a former English court that became notorious for its arbitrary methods and severe punishments
  

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• noun a chart showing the relative positions of the stars in a particular part of the sky
  

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• one who cons, or studies, the stars; an astronomer or an astrologer. Gascoigne.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of stony corals belonging to Astræa, Orbicella, and allied genera, in which the calicles are round or polygonal and contain conspicuous radiating septa.

Webster 1913

• . (Bot.) See under Cucumber.

Webster 1913

• noun a pseudoscience claiming divination by the positions of the planets and sun and moon
  astrology.
  

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• noun a steel rock drill with a star-shaped point that is used for making holes in stones or masonry; it is operated by hitting the end with a hammer while rotating it between blows
  

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• noun an earthball with a smooth upper surface that is at first buried in sand; the top of the fruiting body opens up to form segments like the ray of an umbel
  Scleroderma flavidium.
  

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• . (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.

Webster 1913

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

Webster 1913

• noun deeply ridged yellow-brown tropical fruit; used raw as a vegetable or in salad or when fully ripe as a dessert
  carambola.
  

WordNet

• (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.
• (Ordnance), an instrument for measuring the diameter of the bore of a cannon at any point of its length.

Webster 1913

• noun any of several perennials of the genus Aletris having grasslike leaves and bitter roots reputed to cure colic
  unicorn root; colic root; crow corn; colicroot.
  
• noun any plant of the genus Hypoxis having long grasslike leaves and yellow star-shaped flowers: Africa; Australia; southern Asia; North America
  
• noun trailing grass native to Europe now cosmopolitan in warm regions; used for lawns and pastures especially in southern United States and India
  Cynodon dactylon; Bermuda grass; doob; devil grass; Bahama grass; kweek; scutch grass.
  
• noun perennial Australian grass having numerous long spikes arranged like the vanes of a windmill
  creeping windmill grass; windmill grass; Chloris truncata.
  

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

Webster 1913

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

Webster 1913

• noun annual herb having scarlet flowers; the eastern United States
  Ipomoea coccinea; red morning-glory.
  

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• noun evergreen Chinese woody climber with shiny dark green leaves and intensely fragrant white flowers
  confederate jasmine; Trachelospermum jasminoides.
  

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

Webster 1913

• . (Zoöl.) Same as Stellion.

Webster 1913

• noun deciduous shrubby magnolia from Japan having fragrant white starlike flowers blooming before leaves unfold; grown as an ornamental in United States
  Magnolia stellata.
  

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• noun a six-pointed star formed from two equilateral triangles; an emblem symbolizing Judaism
  Shield of David; Solomon's seal; Magen David; Mogen David.
  

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• noun any of several South African plants grown for the profusion of usually yellow daisylike flowers and mounds of aromatic foliage
  sun marigold; cape marigold.
  

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

Webster 1913

• noun a sapphire that when cut shows a starlike figure in reflected light because of its crystalline structure
  

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• noun small often mat-forming alpine plant having small starlike white flowers; Europe
  starry saxifrage; Saxifraga stellaris.
  

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• noun an artillery shell containing an illuminant
  

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• . See Shooting star, under Shooting.

Webster 1913

• noun (astrology) one of 12 equal areas into which the zodiac is divided
  planetary house; house; sign of the zodiac; sign; mansion.
  

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

Webster 1913

• noun the topology of a network whose components are connected to a hub
  star.
  

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• noun small plant with slender bent stems bearing branched clusters of a few white star-shaped flowers with petals shaped like cat's ears; southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon to Montana
  Calochortus elegans; elegant cat's ears.
  

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

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), a gephyrean.

Webster 1913

Star"-blind` adjective

Definitions

1. Half blind.

Webster 1913

Star"-cham`ber noun

Etymology

So called (as conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer where the chests containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations called starrs (from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar) were kept; or from the stars with which the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.

Definitions

1. (Eng. Hist.) An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641. Encyc. Brit.

Webster 1913

Star"-crossed` adjective

Definitions

1. Not favored by the stars; ill-fated. Poetic Shak.

   Such in my star-crossed destiny. Massinger.

Webster 1913

• noun cosmopolitan in temperate regions except North America
  Lemna trisulca.
  

WordNet

• noun tropical American annual climber having red (sometimes white) flowers and finely dissected leaves; naturalized in United States and elsewhere
  Ipomoea quamoclit; cypress vine; Quamoclit pennata; Indian pink.
  

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• noun rhizomatous begonia having leaves with pointed lobes suggestive of stars and pink flowers
  Begonia heracleifolia; star begonia.
  

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• noun amphibious mole of eastern North America having pink fleshy tentacles around the nose
  starnose mole; Condylura cristata.
  

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• noun any of several perennial plants of the genus Ornithogalum native to the Mediterranean and having star-shaped flowers
  

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• (Bot.), a bulbous liliaceous plant (Ornithogalum umbellatum) having a small white starlike flower.

Webster 1913

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

Webster 1913

Star"-read` noun

Definitions

1. Doctrine or knowledge of the stars; star lore; astrology; astronomy. Obs.

   Which in star-read were wont have best insight. Spenser.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite shaped like a star
  asteroid.
  

WordNet

Star"-span`gled adjective

Definitions

1. Spangled or studded with stars.

Webster 1913

• noun the national flag of the United States of America
  Old Glory; American flag; Star-Spangled Banner.
  

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• noun Mediterranean annual or biennial herb having pinkish to purple flowers surrounded by spine-tipped scales; naturalized in America
  Centauria calcitrapa; caltrop.
  

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• noun the first flag of the Confederate States of America
  Confederate flag.
  

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• noun the national flag of the United States of America
  Old Glory; American flag; Star-Spangled Banner.
  

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• 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.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any one of several species of starfishes belonging to Solaster, Crossaster, and allied genera, having numerous rays.

Webster 1913

• the Dog Star; so called from its appearing during the hot weather of summer, which makes swart the countenance. R. Milton.

Webster 1913

• noun a star in a television show
  television star.
  

WordNet

• (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.

Webster 1913

• noun prairie herb with solitary lilac-colored flowers
  Sabbatia campestris; prairia Sabbatia.
  
• noun Texas annual with coarsely pinnatifid leaves; cultivated for its showy radiate yellow flower heads
  Lindheimera texana.
  

WordNet

• the bright star of early evening in the western sky, soon passing below the horizon; specifically, the planet Venus; called also Vesper and Hesperus. During portions of the year, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are also evening stars. See Morning Star.

Webster 1913

• noun a poem written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 was set to music and adopted by Congress in 1931 as the national anthem of the United States
  

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• to see flashes of light, like stars; sometimes the result of concussion of the head. Colloq.

Webster 1913

• noun a star runner
  

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• (Astron.), a system of three stars in close proximity.

Webster 1913

• noun a star in a television show
  television star.
  

WordNet

• (Astron.), stars not grouped into any constellation; informed stars. See Sporades.

Webster 1913

• noun a star that varies noticeably in brightness
  variable; variable star.
  

WordNet

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

Webster 1913

• noun a star that varies noticeably in brightness
  variable; variable star.
  

WordNet

• (Astron.), fixed stars which vary in their brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods.

Webster 1913

• noun grassy-leaved North American aquatic plant with yellow star-shaped blossoms
  Heteranthera dubia; mud plantain.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), an aquatic plant (Schollera graminea) with small yellow starlike blossoms.

Webster 1913

• noun a faint star of enormous density
  white dwarf.
  

WordNet

• (Zoöl.), any one of several species of small South American humming birds belonging to the genus Calothorax. The male has a brilliant gorget of blue, purple, and other colors.

Webster 1913

• noun California perennial herb cultivated for its racemose white flowers with widely spreading petals; sometimes placed in genus Tellima
  Lithophragma affinis; Lithophragma affine; Tellima affinis.
  

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• noun European weed having a winged stem and hairy leaves; adventive in the eastern United States
  Barnaby's thistle; Centaurea solstitialis.
  

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