Meanings
plural sea stars · alternative sea-star · alternative seastar
- A starfish (class Asteroidea).
- obsoleteA star used for navigation or guidance at sea.
1658: By the same number doth nature divide the circle of the Sea-Starre — Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus (Folio Society 2007, p. 188)
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounechinoderms characterized by five arms extending from a central disk
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From sea + star. Compare West Frisian seestjer (“sea star”), Dutch zeester (“sea star”), German Seestern (“sea star”), Danish søstjerne (“sea star”), Swedish sjöstjärna (“sea star”), Icelandic sjóstjarna (“sea star”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sea star. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sea%20star
“sea star.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sea%20star. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sea star,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sea%20star.
Source: sea star on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.