asterisk

noun as·ter·isk \ ˈas-tə-ˌrisk , especially in plural also nonstandard -ˌrik \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of asterisk

1 : the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings

2 : the character * thought of as being appended to something (such as an athletic accomplishment included in a record book) typically in order to indicate that there is a limiting fact or consideration which makes that thing less important or impressive than it would otherwise be

But the men's triumph came with an asterisk: The Soviets, three-time gold medalists, had boycotted the Games.
—Brad Young

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asteriskless

play \-ləs\ adjective

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Recent Examples of asterisk from the Web

The basic story of a robust United States job market remains very much intact — though with an important asterisk.

— New York Times, "The March Jobs Numbers Show the Economy Is Sound, but Far From Invincible," 6 Apr. 2018
In an interview, El-Sayed called the controversy a politically-motivated attempt to add an asterisk to his name.

— trevor bach, The Christian Science Monitor, "Can a Michigan doctor become America's first Muslim governor?," 29 Mar. 2018
Your position is an asterisk accepted as literally as your alternative facts.

— madeleine aggeler, The Cut, "Are You Ready for Sean Penn’s New Novel?," 20 Mar. 2018
Dates with an asterisk (*) do not include Nothing More.

— chris payne, Billboard, "Five Finger Death Punch Announces New Album, Plots Summer Tour With Breaking Benjamin & More," 13 Mar. 2018
The giant question marks and asterisks that remain, of course, are the path by which broadcasters make more regular 4K sports content available.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "The Winter Olympics in 4K and HDR: A pain in many ways, but gosh, those sparkles," 15 Feb. 2018
But this new mark in the college hoops history books actually comes with an asterisk: The Retrievers are the first men’s team to do it.

— michelle r. martinelli, For The Win, "Harvard women's basketball team welcomes UMBC to their No. 16 seed upset club," 17 Mar. 2018
But there's a bit of an asterisk, as Ciucci puts it.

— devon abelman, Allure, "How to Use Face Gloss, the Dewiest and Most Underrated Highlighting Product Ever," 14 Mar. 2018
And unlike previous Trump-era special elections in historically strong Republican jurisdictions, there’s no obvious asterisk making this one perilous for the GOP.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "The Lamb Surge: Democrat Looking Strong in Trump-Country Special Election," 5 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'asterisk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

If someone asked you to associate the word asterisk with a heavenly body, you would probably have no problem relating it to a star - even if you didn't know that the word asterisk derives from "asteriskos," a Greek word meaning "little star." "Asterisk" has been a part of the constellation of English since at least the late 1300s, but it is far from the only shining star in our language. The Greek forms astēr, "astro," and "astrum" (all of which mean "star") still cast their light in English by way of such words as "asteroid," "astral," and "disaster" (which originally meant "an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star"). Even "star" itself is a distant relative of "asterisk."