Superstar Meaning
/ˈsuː.pəˌstɑː/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounSomeone who has accumulated a vast amount of fame; a high-level celebrity.
nounAn exceptionally productive employee.
Sentence Examples
Tom is a superstar.
Rajinikanth is a superstar in India.
Dr. Sadiq was a superstar in the community.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ singer performed to a sold-out stadium of fifty thousand fans.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young singer became a global ____ overnight after her first single reached the top of the music charts.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Italic *super Latin super Latin super-lbor. English super- Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr Proto-Germanic *sternǭ Proto-West Germanic *sternō Proto-West Germanic *sterrō Old English steorra Middle English sterre English star English superstar From super- + star.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Want to hire a coding superstar? Call the agent."
— 2014 November 17, Lizzie Widdicombe, “The Programmer's Price”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 28 Dec 2022:
"Is your organization looking for its next new hire, that superstar performer to take things to the next level? Be careful: Organizations are greater than just one individual. If you're that superstar, remember to be a good team player. You'll feel better about your job and you'll perform at an even higher level."
— 2017 May 19, Hui Liao, “Career Coach: How to handle the new hotshot on your team”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2020:
""A superstar employee that is creating that toxic work environment is probably costing that company more than he or she is bringing in," Martin says."
— 2017 October 15, Tara Golshan, “Study finds 75 percent of workplace harassment victims experienced retaliation when they spoke up”, in Vox, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2023:
"There's no sense in hiring a superstar developer who will quit after three months because she can't stand the management style or requires flexibility the hiring company doesn't offer."
— 2022 June 27, Ariel Shapira, “As 'Tindery' hiring dies down, Unboxable's AI steers companies toward retention”, in The Jerusalem Post, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2023:
"The greater an object's mass, the greater its gravitational force. If a star could attain a certain mass --- say a million to 100 million times the mass of our own sun --- then its gravity would become 100 times as powerful as the forces generated by the strongest known nuclear reactions. Such a super superstar, in a normal course of its evolution, would contract."
— 1964, Life: Volume 56, No. 4, →ISBN, page 11:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ singer performed to a sold-out stadium of fifty thousand fans.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young singer became a global ____ overnight after her first single reached the top of the music charts.