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Asterisk

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Examples of an asterisk

Examples of an asterisk in different fonts

Image © J. James
Definition: An asterisk is the star-like symbol (*) used in literature, math, computing, and many other fields. The asterisk can denote a wildcard, repetition, notations, multiplication, and footnotes. On the standard English layout keyboard it is accessed with shift+8.

In some fonts the asterisk is superscripted or made smaller than other symbols. It may appear as three crossed lines, two diagonal and one horizontal or two diagonal and one vertical, or some variation.

Also Known As: star | times (in math, multiplication sign)
Common Misspellings: asterick | asteric | asterix | astirick
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