Asterisk Definition

ăstə-rĭsk
asterisks
noun
asterisks
A star-shaped figure (*) used chiefly to indicate an omission, a reference to a footnote, or an unattested word, sound, or affix.
American Heritage
A starlike sign (*) used in printing to indicate footnote references, omissions, etc.
Webster's New World
A symbol used to indicate multiplication, as in 2 * 3 = 6.
American Heritage
Symbol (*).
Wiktionary
(sports, US) A blemish in an otherwise outstanding achievement.
They came into the tournament highly ranked, but with a little bit of an asterisk as their last two wins had been unconvincing.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
verb
asterisks
To mark with an asterisk.
American Heritage
To mark with this sign.
Webster's New World
To mark with an asterisk symbol (*)
Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Asterisk

Noun

Singular:
asterisk
Plural:
asterisks

Origin of Asterisk

  • From Late Latin asteriscus, from Ancient Greek ἀστερίσκος (asteriskos, “a little star, asterisk, used in manuscripts to mark passages”), diminutive of ἀστήρ (aster, “a star”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Late Latin asteriscus from Greek asteriskos diminutive of astēr star ster-3 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to asterisk using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

asterisk