variants
also loadstar
as in compass
a guiding or motivating purpose or principle
a society seemingly with unbridled greed as its only lodestar
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lodestar
Pop The rapper turned pop star Lizzo felt like a lodestar of the twenty-tens Zeitgeist.
—
Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026
At the same time, Tyler notched another accomplishment as one of the select few guests to appear on Clipse’s comeback album, Let God Sort Em Out, produced by his longtime musical lodestar, Pharrell Williams.
—Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 19 Jan. 2026
President Harry Truman quickly made the memo the lodestar of American Cold War strategy.
—Caleb Pomeroy, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2025
But in swapping out just four tracks, FKA twigs finally brought planet EUSEXUA into the orbit of her late-’90s pop lodestars.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lodestar
Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026
At the same time, Tyler notched another accomplishment as one of the select few guests to appear on Clipse’s comeback album, Let God Sort Em Out, produced by his longtime musical lodestar, Pharrell Williams.
—Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 19 Jan. 2026
President Harry Truman quickly made the memo the lodestar of American Cold War strategy.
—Caleb Pomeroy, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2025
But in swapping out just four tracks, FKA twigs finally brought planet EUSEXUA into the orbit of her late-’90s pop lodestars.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lodestar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lodestar
Noun
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Alignment lasers and the ship’s gyro-compass ensured the rotors were plumb and correctly oriented.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Apr. 2026
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The wind is coming to you from every corner of the compass.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Previously unproven players like Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza and rookie Hugo Gonzalez all enjoyed career years under Mazzulla’s direction.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
20 Apr. 2026
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People are different; their experiences might have little overlap; their values pull in competing directions.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lodestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lodestar. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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