lodestar
noun
Did you know?
If you’re looking for inspiration, lodestar may represent the mother lode. The literal, albeit archaic, meaning of lodestar is “a star that leads or guides”; it is a term that has been used especially in reference to the North Star, a star in the Ursa Minor, or Little Dipper, constellation. The lode in both lodestar and mother lode comes from the Middle English word for “course” (lode is still used in some parts of England to mean “waterway”). Both the starry sense of lodestar and the more earthly “something or someone that leads or guides a person or group of people” meaning date back to the 14th century, the time of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who used both in his work. The literal sense had mostly fallen out of use by the early 17th century, but the figurative use shines on.
Examples of lodestar in a Sentence
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 21 Feb. 2025
But, for now, autocratic China remains Asia's lodestar.
—Simon Tay, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2010
These can be the lodestars for our new, more emotionally available museum—a museum that allows people to be.
—Eric Crosby, Artforum, 1 May 2025
High jewelry and archival creations have become the lodestar for jewelry brands.
—Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lodestar
Cite this Entry
“Lodestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lodestar. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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