Meanings
plural death stars
- CanadaUScolloquialdatedslangbroadcastinga direct-to-home satellite television satellite (used by the cable television provider industry, to describe their competitors and the effect they would have in decimating the cable industry, prior to the introduction of digital satellite television and the three-foot dish revolution)
Synonyms: DBS, direct broadcast satellite
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna direct-to-home satellite television satellite (used by the cable television provider industry, to describe their competitors and the effect they would have in decimating the cable industry, prior to the introduction of digital satellite television and the three-foot dish revolution)
Origin
From death + star: star as in satellite; death as in the decimation of an industry. Influenced by the Death Star base in Star Wars media.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
death star. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20star
“death star.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20star. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death star,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20star.
Source: death star on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.