blazing star

noun

Definition of blazing star

1 archaic : comet

2 : any of various plants having conspicuous flower clusters or star-shaped flowers: such as

a : any of a genus (Liatris) of North American composite herbs with spikes of rosy-purple rayless flowers — called also button snakeroot

b : any of several North American rough-leaved herbs (genus Mentzelia of the family Losaceae)

Recent Examples of blazing star from the Web

Since volunteers began restoring the preserve about 40 years ago, visitors now can spot great St. John’s wort, bergamot, rattlesnake-master, coneflowers and blazing stars, among other plants and wildflowers, according to the preserve’s website.

— genevieve bookwalter, chicagotribune.com, "Miami Woods Forest Preserve celebrates 40 years of volunteer restoration," 6 Apr. 2018
And the alkali mariposa lily and ash meadows blazing star are among the plants that grow only along this river.

— jim robbins, New York Times, "The Amargosa River Defies the Desert," 18 Dec. 2017
Hurtling through Saturn’s shroud of hydrogen and helium at nearly 70,000 mph, the spacecraft would have been glowing like a meteor in its last moments -- a fitting finale for a blazing star of the scientific world.

— USA TODAY, "Cassini spacecraft makes death plunge into Saturn after 20-year journey," 15 Sep. 2017

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