polestar

noun

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

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 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 As Twitter appears to go down in flames, with nothing on the horizon to rise in its place as the polestar of the media firmament, there is some hope that people in the press or in Hollywood may have to update their priors once more about how young activists actually talk and behave. WIRED, 16 Nov. 2022 The Brazilian restaurant has been lauded widely as a polestar of exciting food in the city. Dallas News, 13 Oct. 2022 And, of course, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn’s polestar for art and repertory programming. Vulture Editors, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2022 Climate change has been, and remains, the polestar of Putin’s decade-long turn away from the West. Stephen Lezak, The New Republic, 12 July 2022 His Guiding Principles became the central narrative of the GSA and a kind of polestar for US architects. Adam Rogers, Wired, 6 Feb. 2020 Time is told by the rising up and rolling down of the sunlight on the cliffs, by the glimpse of Cassiopeia in the narrows turning around the polestar through the stardust of perfect clear September nights. Christopher Ketcham, Harper's magazine, 24 June 2019 This lush, rangy pocket of the country is finally being recognized as a culinary polestar, with chefs such Ms. Cooper, Tennessee’s Sean Brock and Virginia’s Travis Milton championing of Appalachian foodways to national acclaim. Louisa Shafia, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polestar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of polestar was in 1555

Dictionary Entries Near polestar

Cite this Entry

“Polestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polestar. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

polestar

noun
pole·​star ˈpōl-ˌstär How to pronounce polestar (audio)

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