Rock star or rockstar?
rock star is a noun meaning “Alternative spelling of rockstar”; rockstar is a noun meaning “A member of a rock band, or a solo artist in the genre, especially one with…”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. rock star is written as two words and rockstar as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between rock star and rockstar?
| rock star | rockstar | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Meaning | Alternative spelling of rockstar | A member of a rock band, or a solo artist in the genre, especially one with celebrity status A person who is renowned or revered in his or her field of accomplishment |
| Example | none recorded | By 1967, Jimi Hendrix had become a rockstar |
| Forms | none | rockstars |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 2.0 times per million words |
Sources: rock star and rockstar in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of rock star and rockstar
rock star
- 1
Alternative spelling of rockstar
rockstar
- 1
A member of a rock band, or a solo artist in the genre, especially one with celebrity status
By 1967, Jimi Hendrix had become a rockstar
- 2
A person who is renowned or revered in his or her field of accomplishment
Near-synonyms: superstar, all-star, star
- 3
Someone who works hard, achieves wins, or both; used in expressions of gratitude
Near-synonyms: superstar, all-star, star
- 4
Any animal, plant, or other thing that is renowned amongst others of its type
Near-synonyms: superstar, all-star, star
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, rock star or rockstar?
rock star is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; rockstar 2.0 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search rock star vs rockstar?
“rock star vs rockstar” is searched about 30 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“rockstar vs rock star”, “rock star or rockstar”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.