to wish upon a star

4 6.3

To look at a star and make a wish hoping it will come true

idiom

Baby Talk

: pedir un deseo al ver una estrella

So tonight we're gonna wish upon a star.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
wish upon a star, makes

When you wish upon A star, your dreams come true.

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Examples

I wish upon a star.

Blog text (11)
Tonight, look up in the sky, find one, and wish upon a star.

Blog text (11)
When you wish upon A star makes no difference who you are.

Rick Beato
Someday I'll wish upon a star

That's Entertainment! (1974)
Someday I'll wish upon a star.

Blog text (6)
When you wish upon A star, your dreams come true.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Wish upon a star.

Fiction book (1995)
Tonight, look up in the sky, find one, and wish upon a star.
When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.

Surface Forms

wish upon a star infinitive

wished upon a star past

wished upon a star past participle

wishing upon a star present participle

wishes upon a star third person singular

Morphology

wish + upon + a + star

The meaning is directly compositional: 'wish' (to desire) + 'upon' (on/at) + 'star' (celestial object) yields making a wish when seeing or addressing a star. This is a common, culturally widespread children's ritual and follows an obvious literal logic, so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily infer the expression's meaning.

Etymology

The expression wish upon a star comes from a simple picture: a child looking at a bright star and quietly making a wish as if the star could grant it. So today it means 'to hope something will come true'.