: the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings
2
: the character * thought of as being appended to something (such as an athletic accomplishment included in a record book) typically in order to indicate that there is a limiting fact or consideration which makes that thing less important or impressive than it would otherwise be
But the men's triumph came with an asterisk: The Soviets, three-time gold medalists, had boycotted the Games. Brad Young
3
: someone or something considered too minor for prominent mention : footnote
At fifty-four, he had followed war from the hills of Italy to the islands of the Pacific to the mountains of Korea, and countless other places already becoming asterisks in the history books. William Prochnau
If someone asked you to associate the word asterisk with a heavenly body, you would probably have no problem relating it to a star - even if you didn't know that the word asterisk derives from "asteriskos," a Greek word meaning "little star." "Asterisk" has been a part of the constellation of English since at least the late 1300s, but it is far from the only shining star in our language. The Greek forms astēr, "astro," and "astrum" (all of which mean "star") still cast their light in English by way of such words as "asteroid," "astral," and "disaster" (which originally meant "an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star"). Even "star" itself is a distant relative of "asterisk."
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Here, sports elation routinely comes with an asterisk.San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Sep. 2022 Games with an asterisk include online support in the launch version of this compilation. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2022 That argument was often cited for why an asterisk was placed in the record books by then commissioner Ford Frick and not removed until 1991 by Fay Vincent - a year before he was forced to resign by owners and six years after Maris died. Larry Fleisher, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 Which should tell Montgomery there’s an invisible asterisk hanging over the wins. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2022 She's already got 23 of 'em, more than anyone except Margaret Court, whose accomplishment comes with an asterisk since many of her 24 titles came before the open era transformed tennis. Paul Newberry, ajc, 12 Aug. 2022 In the last half-century, one MLB team has moved, and even that move came with an asterisk: When the Expos moved from Montreal to Washington, MLB owned the team. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2022 Even so, this Wimbledon is likely to be recalled with an asterisk. Gerald Marzorati, The New Yorker, 26 June 2022 There's a slight asterisk in that 2020 had a unique all-conference schedule, but Texas A&M's only loss was to Alabama in the second game of the season. Nick Kelly, USA TODAY, 23 May 2022
Verb
The game validated all of the improvement that was asterisked by the low level of Ohio State's competition since the loss to Oklahoma. Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com, 31 Oct. 2017 The movie made $60 million domestically (another $40 million internationally, asterisked by the fact that this was the era before international box-office dominated performance) on a budget of $66 million. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2017 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, astarisc, from Late Latin asteriscus, from Greek asteriskos, literally, little star, diminutive of aster-, astēr