rock star

noun

plural rock stars

1

: a famous rock musician

From my standpoint, from '72 to '76, I was the ultimate rock star. I couldn't have been more of a rock star. Anything that had to do with being a rock 'n' roll singer was what I was going for.

—David Bowie

He's what I always thought rock stars should be: sexy, dangerous, outrageous, and funny. And at least a little self-aware.

—Doug Brod

2

: a highly accomplished and well-regarded person in a particular field

Locals came streaming across a muddy construction site on the Cooper River to catch a glimpse of the rock star of politics.

—Howard Fineman

The Colchester Boards of Selectmen, Finance and Education are the rock stars of our town's elected government.

—Jason Cohen

For the agency, whose mission is building soil health, Brandt [David Brandt, farmer] has emerged as a kind of rock star. He's a "step ahead of the game."

—Tom Philpott

Pale-faced and bespectacled, the 43-year-old Chudzinski is an emerging rock star in NFL coaching circles.

—David G Fleming

… the day of the celebrity chef is seriously upon us. Chefs have become the rock stars of their generation, and we all long to know them better.

—Ruth Reichl

Examples of rock star in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The music ranged from Star Wars to sentimental ballads and the organists were treated like rock stars. —Lilly St. Angelo, The Indianapolis Star, 31 Dec. 2024

The country rock star posted a black-and-white selfie of himself wearing a hat, sunglasses, and leather jacket while smiling with the former Florida Attorney General. —Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024

As Oliva Rodrigo’s Guts world tour heads towards its end, the rock star will donate $2 million from its ticket sales to 10 nonprofits supporting women and girls around the world. —Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2024

View More James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, like all the best movies about rock stars—Sid and Nancy, Bohemian Rhapsody, Control—is a fairy tale. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1