The asterisk means a footnote, a required field, a wildcard, a correction and a caveat. Context is doing all the work.
The short version
Start here if you only have one minute. The full guide below explains each point.
Six unrelated jobs
Footnote, required field, wildcard, correction, caveat, formatting.
Position decides
The character never changes; only where it sits.
Not a star
The asterisk is punctuation, and software treats it that way.
01
The footnote, its original job
In printing, the asterisk was the first in a fixed sequence of footnote marks: asterisk, dagger, double dagger, section sign.
It goes after the punctuation, not before, and it refers to a note at the foot of the same page rather than to an endnote.
02
The required field
On forms, a leading asterisk marks a required field. This is convention only; nothing in the character carries the meaning.
It also fails for screen reader users unless the field is properly marked as required, since the asterisk is announced as a star character and nothing more.
03
The wildcard
In file searches, command lines and many search tools, an asterisk stands for any sequence of characters. In regular expressions it means something narrower: zero or more of the preceding item.
Those two meanings are close enough to be confused and different enough to produce wrong results.
- File glob: *.txt means any file ending in .txt
- Regular expression: a* means zero or more letter a
- SQL: * means every column
04
The correction
In chat, a word followed by an asterisk corrects a typo in a previous message. This convention emerged from instant messaging and is now near-universal.
It is one of the few asterisk meanings that developed entirely online rather than being inherited from print.
✦The correction asterisk goes after the word. Before the word, in most chat apps, it starts bold formatting instead.
05
The caveat
An asterisk after a claim signals that conditions apply, usually unfavourable ones. Advertising made this meaning so familiar it now works without any actual footnote.
This is the meaning that carries a tone. Using it unintentionally makes a statement read as hedged.
06
The formatting instruction
In Markdown, WhatsApp, Discord and Slack, asterisks around a word make it bold or italic. The characters themselves disappear.
This is why a decorative asterisk vanishes and the following text changes weight. To show a literal asterisk in those apps, a different star character is the practical answer.
Six meanings, decided by position
The same character in different places. Nothing about the asterisk itself distinguishes these; only the context does.
| Position | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| After a word | Footnote reference | revenue* |
| Before a label | Required field | |
| Inside a pattern | Wildcard | *.txt |
| After a corrected word | Typo fix | definately* |
| After a claim | Conditions apply | free* |
| Around a word | Bold formatting | *important* |
Rows one and five look identical and mean opposite things: one promises more information, the other warns of a restriction.
07
Copy the symbols discussed in this guide
This guide explains the topic. Use punctuation symbols for the main copyable set, compare it with star symbols, and browse technical symbols for another useful angle. Each collection includes searchable Unicode names and HTML references.
08
Questions, answered
What is the asterisk called in Unicode?+
ASTERISK, at U+002A. It sits in the Basic Latin block and is one of the original ASCII characters.
Why does my asterisk disappear in chat?+
Most chat apps use asterisks as bold formatting markers, so the characters are consumed and the styling applied instead.
Is the asterisk the same as a star symbol?+
No. The asterisk is punctuation at U+002A. Star symbols such as ★ at U+2605 are shapes, and software treats the two very differently.
09
Sources and review notes
Character identities were checked against Unicode charts; contextual guidance distinguishes standardized names from broader cultural use.