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Meaning & use

pop star

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈpɒp ˌstɑː/
US/ˈpɑːp ˌstɑːr/

Meaning

  1. nouncountablemusic

    A famous singer or performer of popular music who has a large fan following.

    Grammar: Countable: a pop star, many pop stars.

    Patterns

    • a pop star like someone
    • become a pop star

    She dreamed of becoming a pop star from the age of six.

    The pop star waved to fans from the balcony.

    Several pop stars appeared at the charity concert.

Word forms

pluralpop stars

Common combinations

teen pop star
The teen pop star signed her first record deal at sixteen.
international pop star
The international pop star toured four continents.
former pop star
A former pop star now runs a bakery.
aspiring pop star
The aspiring pop star posted songs online.
global pop star
A global pop star headlined the festival.

Synonyms and how they differ

singer
Singer is general, whereas pop star implies fame and genre.
idol
Idol focuses on admiration from fans and is often used for young performers in Asian pop.
celebrity
Celebrity can be famous in any field, whereas pop star is limited to music.
performer
Performer covers dancers and actors as well.

Word family

pop noun
popular music
star noun
a famous performer
stardom noun
the state of being famous
superstar noun
an extremely famous performer

Commonly confused: pop star or rock star?

pop star vs rock star

A rock star performs rock music, though the phrase is also used for any very successful person.

Practice

A teenager with millions of streams and sold-out arenas would be called a ______.

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