asterisk
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A star-shaped character * used in printing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
asteriskSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈæstɚɪsk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A star-shaped character * used in printing
figuratively
Something which is of little importance or which is marginal; a footnote.
Something resembling or shaped like an asterisk symbol.
ussportsfiguratively
A blemish in an otherwise outstanding achievement.
verb
transitive
To mark or replace (text, etc.) with an asterisk symbol (*; noun noun, sense 1.1); to star.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A star-shaped character * used in printing
Used this way, asterisk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use asterisk
- “Remember to put an asterisk next to any required fields on the form.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.