shooting star
noun
1
: a visual meteor appearing as a temporary streak of light in the night sky
2
: any of several North American perennial herbs (genus Dodecatheon, especially D. meadia) of the primrose family that have entire oblong leaves and showy flowers with reflexed petals
3
: one resembling a shooting star especially in sudden and temporary brilliance
Examples of shooting star in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When a space rock enters the atmosphere on its own and burns up, it's called a meteor, or shooting star.
—
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2024
The Leonid meteor shower became active on Nov. 3 and will continue to light up the night sky through Dec. 2 — however, a stunning display of shooting stars are expected to occur between Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 when the shower peaks.
—Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 11 Nov. 2023
Light pollution, along with clouds and fog, are a few of the biggest obstacles that often hinder stargazers' view of spotting a shooting star.
—Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 27 Dec. 2023
OpenAI leaders warned of abusive behavior before Sam Altman’s ouster
In a Silicon Valley milieu in which shooting star companies often give birth to cults of personality around firms’ founders, Altman has stood out.
—Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2023
Some meteor showers last days, with above-average but not spectacular numbers of shooting stars visible all night.
—Nicole Clausing, Sunset Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024
Seventeen also posted a video of the performance from the Macao show, in which the band’s members sit atop a large rectangular video display as the enormous screen behind them displays a pastel moon and clouds bisected by shooting stars.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2024
While a single satellite crosses the night sky like an uncannily smoothly shooting star, Starlink satellites are often seen in ‘‘trains,’’ roving the sky in linear formation.
—Jaime Green, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2023
Fortunately for us, most of these small pieces of debris burn up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground — and that's what produces a meteor, or shooting star.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 3 Jan. 2024
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2024
The Leonid meteor shower became active on Nov. 3 and will continue to light up the night sky through Dec. 2 — however, a stunning display of shooting stars are expected to occur between Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 when the shower peaks.
—Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 11 Nov. 2023
Light pollution, along with clouds and fog, are a few of the biggest obstacles that often hinder stargazers' view of spotting a shooting star.
—Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 27 Dec. 2023
OpenAI leaders warned of abusive behavior before Sam Altman’s ouster
In a Silicon Valley milieu in which shooting star companies often give birth to cults of personality around firms’ founders, Altman has stood out.
—Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2023
Some meteor showers last days, with above-average but not spectacular numbers of shooting stars visible all night.
—Nicole Clausing, Sunset Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024
Seventeen also posted a video of the performance from the Macao show, in which the band’s members sit atop a large rectangular video display as the enormous screen behind them displays a pastel moon and clouds bisected by shooting stars.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2024
While a single satellite crosses the night sky like an uncannily smoothly shooting star, Starlink satellites are often seen in ‘‘trains,’’ roving the sky in linear formation.
—Jaime Green, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2023
Fortunately for us, most of these small pieces of debris burn up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground — and that's what produces a meteor, or shooting star.
—Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 3 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shooting star.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Shooting star.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shooting%20star. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
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