Favourite star symbol

A five-pointed star marking something as favoured or rated.

Everyday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

A five-pointed star marks something as favoured, or forms part of a rating scale. Which of the two it means has to be read from context, because the same glyph serves both.

InformalCommon usage
Marks an item as favoured, usually adding it to a list the user maintains.
Contexts: Software
Common modern usageVerified fact
In a row of five, the same star forms a rating scale, a convention that reached software from hotel and restaurant classification.
Contexts: Software

Visual description

A star of five points drawn as a single continuous outline, one point directed upward and two resting toward the base.

Symmetry: vertical
Orientation: upright

Commonly confused with: Bookmark ribbon symbol
Both save something for later, with no agreed division between them.
Commonly confused with: Like heart symbol
A heart and a star both express approval; which one a service uses is a product decision, and users read them as broadly the same act.

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

Star (classification)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Icon (computing)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.

Last reviewed 2026-08-01

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Meanings

A five-pointed star marks something as favoured, or forms part of a rating scale. Which of the two it means has to be read from context, because the same glyph serves both.

InformalCommon usage

Marks an item as favoured, usually adding it to a list the user maintains.

Contexts: Software

Common modern usageVerified fact

In a row of five, the same star forms a rating scale, a convention that reached software from hotel and restaurant classification.

Contexts: Software

Related & commonly confused symbols

Commonly confused with: Bookmark ribbon symbol
Both save something for later, with no agreed division between them.
Commonly confused with: Like heart symbol
A heart and a star both express approval; which one a service uses is a product decision, and users read them as broadly the same act.

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

Star (classification)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Icon (computing)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.

Last reviewed 2026-08-01