stargazer

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who observes the stars, especially an amateur astronomer

   A patient stargazer can see the Perseid meteor shower without a telescope.

2. 2
   noun

   figurative: an impractical dreamer absorbed in lofty ideas rather than everyday concerns

   The board mocked the inventor as a stargazer until her prototype worked.

3. 3
   noun

   any of several bottom-dwelling marine fishes with eyes on the upper surface of the head

   The stargazer buries itself in sand with only its eyes and mouth exposed.

A compound of star + gazer, literally someone who gazes at stars. The fish was named for its upward-facing eyes, while the figurative sense pictures a dreamer looking toward lofty matters instead of practical affairs.

Topics