shooting star

A brief bright line of light in the night sky, made when a small piece of rock burns as it enters Earth’s air.

Despite its name, a shooting star is not a star; it is the visible effect of a small space rock burning in the atmosphere.

• We saw a shooting star just as the sky began to darken.
• I thought I saw a shooting star, but it disappeared before I could point it out.
• During the meteor shower, we waited quietly for a shooting star to cross the sky.