Meanings
nounKleene star (plural Kleene stars)
plural Kleene stars
- computingThe asterisk, *, used as an operator to concatenate zero or more strings from a given set, widely used in regular expressions.
Synonyms: Kleene operator
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe asterisk, *, used as an operator to concatenate zero or more strings from a given set, widely used in regular expressions.
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Origin
After Stephen Cole Kleene (1909-1994), American mathematician.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian звезда на Клини
- звезда на Клини (zvezda na Klini)Translations
Finnish Kleenen tähti
- Kleenen tähtiTranslations
French étoile de Kleene
- étoile de KleeneTranslations
Cite this entry
APA
Kleene star. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kleene%20star
MLA
“Kleene star.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kleene%20star. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kleene star,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kleene%20star.
Source: Kleene star on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.