star turn

noun

1

a

: a performance, role, or appearance (as in a movie or television show) that is done by a star or well-known personality

… we might see a Best Actress nod for Jane Horrock's nuanced portrayal in Life Is Sweet instead of Bette Midler's star turn in For the Boys …

—Peter Travers

Slater … delivers a surprisingly effective performance in this otherwise muddled thriller made before his attention-grabbing star turn in Heathers.

—Ed Hulse

… she would surely dump the bother of serving as Alaska's besieged governor for a lucrative star turn on Fox News.

—Frank Rich

b

: an outstanding performance or prominent role in or contribution to something

The fresh, soft, white Italian cheese called mascarpone is most famous for its star turn in tiramisu …

—Jane Daniels Lear

The football gods would return the favor early in the fourth quarter on a strangely similar play that bounced Indy's way, with center Jeff Saturday getting the star turn.

—Michael Silver

2

chiefly British : the featured skit or number in a theatrical production

also : the most outstanding or prominent person or thing in a group

The star turn of a recent lunch in the plant-filled conservatory was a Goan curry—chunks of succulent chicken breast in a sauce the color of pesto, made with green chilies and coriander.

—R. W. Apple, Jr.

Examples of star turn in a Sentence

She was nominated for an Oscar for her star turn as a single mother raising three children alone.

She was the star turn in yesterday's game.

Recent Examples on the Web

And Culkin believes the time may have arrived for his children to watch his sibling take his star turn. —Lisa Respers France, CNN, 3 Dec. 2024

Danson earned Golden Globes for best performance by an actor in a limited series or TV movie for the film Something About Amelia in 1985, and won for best performance by an actor in a TV series for his star turn as Boston bartender Sam Malone on the popular sitcom Cheers in 1990 and 1991. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Dec. 2024

Stone takes another star turn here in the form of the custom Ping-Pong table. —Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 1 Dec. 2024

Look, 192 rushing yards against No. 1 Oregon is a star turn against a star defense. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 2