oyster

noun

oys·​ter ˈȯi-stər 

often attributive

1

a

: any of various marine bivalve mollusks (family Ostreidae) that have a rough irregular shell closed by a single adductor muscle and include commercially important shellfish

b

: any of various mollusks resembling or related to the oysters

2

: something that is or can be readily made to serve one's personal ends

the world was her oyster

3

: a small mass of muscle contained in a concavity of the pelvic bone on each side of the back of a fowl

4

: an extremely taciturn person

5

: a grayish-white color

Examples of oyster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Known for its modern take on South Carolina's culinary past, the restaurant focuses on elevated lowcountry and southern cuisine with dishes like red cornmeal fried oysters, lobster arancini, and lowcountry pirlou with butter-poached lobster, crab, shrimp, mussels, saffron, and more. —Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2025

Assigning causality in such cases is like trying to force a freshly-shucked oyster into the coin slot of a parking meter, and nearly as ridiculous. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 Nov. 2025

Restoring ecosystems at scale, such as the oyster reefs around New York City, the Everglades of Florida, the world’s coral reefs, and the Amazon rainforest, will not only stabilize the climate. —Tim Christophersen, Time, 13 Nov. 2025

Don’t miss the Grassy Bar oysters, the BBQ Steak Lion, or the Dry-Aged Steak Burger (there are only 24 available every night). —Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English oistre, borrowed from Anglo-French oistre, ostre, going back to Latin ostrea, ostreum "bivalve mollusk, oyster," borrowed from Greek óstreion, óstreon, of uncertain origin

Note: Greek óstreion has traditionally been taken to be a derivative, with a suffix -ei-, of a stem going back to Indo-European *h₃esth₁-r-, from the base *h₃esth₁- "bone." See note at ostracon.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing oyster

• European flat oyster
• European oyster
• Olympia oyster
• oyster bed
• oyster crab
• oyster cracker
• oyster drill
• oyster mushroom
• oyster plant
• seed oyster
• the world is someone's oyster
• vegetable oyster

Rhymes for oyster

• cloister
• moister
• royster

Kids Definition

oyster

noun

oys·​ter ˈȯi-stər 

: any of various marine mollusks that include important edible shellfish and have a rough uneven shell made up of two hinged parts and closed by a single muscle