POLE STAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pole star mean? 

• POLE STAR (noun)
  The noun POLE STAR has 1 sense:

1. the brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it

  Familiarity information: POLE STAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POLE STAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

North Star; polar star; Polaris; pole star; polestar

Instance hypernyms:

loadstar; lodestar (guiding star; a star that is used as a reference point in navigation or astronomy)

variable; variable star (a star that varies noticeably in brightness)

Holonyms ("pole star" is a member of...):

Little Bear; Ursa Minor (a constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star)

Dipper; Little Dipper (a cluster of seven stars in Ursa Minor; at the end of the dipper's handle is Polaris)