From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishasteriskas‧te‧risk /ˈæstərɪsk/ noun [countable] SLAa mark like a star (*), used especially to show something interesting or important —asterisk verb [transitive]
Examples from the Corpus
asterisk• He located what appeared to be an asterisk, which produced only an empty silence that he was paying for.• But for the time being, at least, stick an asterisk next to this season.• So reaching profitability, even if it came with an asterisk, was a major milestone.• I wrote up my notes deep into the night, furrowing pages with black underlinings and asterisks.• Titles with graphics are marked with one asterisk, titles with sound with two.• If a rest follows the solo passage the asterisk is unnecessary.• The asterisk, to my mind, was emblematic of the neutering of Iron Mike.Origin asterisk (1300-1400) Late Latin asteriscus, from Greek, “little star”, from aster; → ASTEROID 