star turn

noun

1

a

: a performance, role, or appearance (as in a movie or television show) that is done by a star or well-known personality

… we might see a Best Actress nod for Jane Horrock's nuanced portrayal in Life Is Sweet instead of Bette Midler's star turn in For the Boys …

—Peter Travers

Slater … delivers a surprisingly effective performance in this otherwise muddled thriller made before his attention-grabbing star turn in Heathers.

—Ed Hulse

… she would surely dump the bother of serving as Alaska's besieged governor for a lucrative star turn on Fox News.

—Frank Rich

b

: an outstanding performance or prominent role in or contribution to something

The fresh, soft, white Italian cheese called mascarpone is most famous for its star turn in tiramisu …

—Jane Daniels Lear

The football gods would return the favor early in the fourth quarter on a strangely similar play that bounced Indy's way, with center Jeff Saturday getting the star turn.

—Michael Silver

2

chiefly British : the featured skit or number in a theatrical production

also : the most outstanding or prominent person or thing in a group

The star turn of a recent lunch in the plant-filled conservatory was a Goan curry—chunks of succulent chicken breast in a sauce the color of pesto, made with green chilies and coriander.

—R. W. Apple, Jr.

Examples of star turn in a Sentence

She was nominated for an Oscar for her star turn as a single mother raising three children alone.

She was the star turn in yesterday's game.

Recent Examples on the Web

Those who know the pugnacious and competitive DA well say a star turn in the courtroom — in the only case against Trump that will be televised — may put the distracting disqualification drama fully behind her. —Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024

Lee also lacked a statewide profile — unlike Schiff, whose prominence rose by leading the first impeachment of Donald Trump; or Porter with her whiteboard notes during congressional hearings; or even Garvey, with his star turns on the Dodgers and Padres. —Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024

López Nájera’s star turn as Jennifer in Operation Clean-up was short-lived. —Tim Golden, ProPublica, 31 Jan. 2024

Vergara’s performance is an irresistible star turn that never sacrifices an almost- retro sense of glamour, no matter how many hit jobs Griselda orders. —Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024

As the star turns to other fuel sources and loses mass, its core gets hotter, and its atmosphere puffs up over millions of years. —Quanta Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023

Solomon’s most recent star turn at the turntables was his banner appearance at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago in July 2022. —Byjane Thier, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023

But not every Wolverine gets a moment on center stage — or has the desire to take a star turn. —Billy Witz, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2023

Bristol Myers buys big into ADCs After a series of star turns at major medical meetings, the latest pharmaceutical craze is the humble antibody-drug conjugate, the reason for several multibillion-dollar deals in 2023 alone. —Damian Garde, STAT, 12 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 2