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

Advertisement His star turn started in the first quarter, as Lemon caught a kickoff at the goal line, cut up field and blew the game open. —Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2024

Magazine story about Feldstein’s star turn in Booksmart, Hill called her his hero. —Julie Tremaine, People.com, 19 Oct. 2024

Since being named one of the winners of The Met’s prestigious Laffont Competition in 2016, during her final year of college, she’s been doing the rounds of the opera capitals, recording two albums of her favorite cover songs, and preparing for her star turn in Grounded. —Christopher Barnard, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2024

The closest any of his star turns have come to villainy are the first and fourth Rambo films, but Rambo is Frankenstein’s monster, not Dracula. —Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at sense 2