starring

starring — adjective

1. describing the most important acting part in a film, play, or television show.

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing the most important acting part in a film, play, or television show.

Example

Quan was thrilled when he landed the starring role in the school play.

attributive use: starring + role / part

The director offered Yuna the starring part after her first audition.

Common collocations
  • starring role
  • starring part
  • starring performance
  • starring actor
  • starring cast
  • starring credit
Synonyms
  • lead

    used for the actor or role itself ('lead role'), whereas 'starring' describes the type of role

  • leading

    more formal and slightly broader ('leading man', 'leading role')

  • title

    narrower — refers specifically to a role whose name matches the work's title ('title role')

Antonyms
  • supporting

    describes a role that is important but less central than the starring part

Grammar Patterns

starring + noun

Usage Note

Attributive only — always placed before a noun (*starring role*, never *the role is starring*). Do not confuse with the verb *star* (*She stars in the film*), where *starring* is the progressive form (*She is starring in the film*).

Common Mistakes

He got the role starring in the movie.
He got the starring role in the movie.
'starring' as an adjective must go before the noun it describes.
The actress is very starring this year.
The actress is starring in a major film this year.
'starring' is not a stand-alone adjective describing a person; use the verb form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Starring', 'lead', 'leading', and 'title' all relate to the most important role in a production, but they are used slightly differently. 'Starring' is an attributive adjective that describes the role itself ('starring role') or the credit an actor receives ('starring credit'). 'Lead' can be a noun or an adjective and focuses on the position of the character ('the lead role', 'the male lead'). 'Leading' is more formal and slightly broader in application — you can talk about a 'leading actor', a 'leading lady', or a 'leading role'. 'Title' is narrower and only works when the role's name is the same as the work's title — for example, playing 'Hamlet' in *Hamlet* is the title role. Choose 'starring' when you want to highlight the attention and importance the role receives from the production itself; choose 'lead' or 'leading' when you want to describe the character's centrality to the story.

leadleading ↗title ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

'Starring' is the present participle of the verb 'star', which came from the noun 'star' (the celestial body). The theatrical use of 'star' to mean a famous performer dates back to the early 1800s, and by the 1900s 'starring' had developed its attributive adjective use to describe the most important role in a production.