polestar

noun

pole·​star ˈpōl-ˌstär How to pronounce polestar (audio)
Synonyms of polestarnext
1
: north star
2
a
: a directing principle : guide
b
: a center of attraction

Synonyms of polestar

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of polestar in a Sentence

under the polestar of progress, urban renewal programs gutted the historic districts of many cities
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Bob Whitman was a polestar in the great era before that. — Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025 While his Late Night forerunner Letterman was probably the comedic polestar of Generation X—gruff, cynical, and biting the hand that fed—O’Brien became a bedrock influence for the next generation of Millennial comics. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2025 Maison Proust, Paris (Image credit: Maison Proust) Opulence is the polestar at Maison Proust. — Catherine Garcia, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024 Durazzi had horses freely roaming the garden; inside the gallery, models were standing on a felt-padded plinth, while images of women who are the designer’s polestars—artists, scientists, and intellectuals from Phoebe Boswell to Carla Cerati to Ottessa Moshfegh—were projected on their faces. — Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 15 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for polestar

Word History

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of polestar was in 1555

Rhymes for polestar

See All Rhymes for polestar

Browse Nearby Words

polestack
polestar
pole step
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Polestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polestar. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on polestar

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about polestar

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All