costar

1 of 2

noun

co·​star ˈkō-ˌstär 

variants or co-star

plural costars or co-stars

: one of two or more main performers who star in a movie, play, etc.

… the star seems more relaxed and confident, and there's a bracing snap to the byplay between him and his costars.

—Mark Harris

costar

2 of 2

verb

variants or co-star

costarred or co-starred; costarring or co-starring

1

transitive : to employ or present (someone) as one of two or more leading performers in a movie, play, etc.

Directed by Lasse Hallström … and costarring a fine ensemble …

—Leonora Langley

2

intransitive : to appear with another star in a movie, play, etc.

Examples of costar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Clueless actor remembered trying out to play Turk on the medical sitcom at a town hall event on Tuesday for SiriusXM’s Faction Talk alongside his costar Zach Braff and Lawrence. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026

Jordan’s costar Delroy Lindo, fresh off his standing ovation at the NAACP Image Awards, made an emotional acceptance speech on the cast’s behalf. —Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 2 Mar. 2026

Verb

Jeremy Sisto's Jubal Valentine will appear in the CIA premiere, and Deadline reported that his FBI costars Alana De La Garza and Missy Peregrym will also factor into the covert operations of the new series. —Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Feb. 2026

The film costars Chris Hemsworth, Monica Barbaro, Mark Ruffalo and Barry Keoghan. —Julia Teti, Footwear News, 3 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1888, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 2