Esther

American  

[es-ter] / ˈɛs tər /

noun

1. the wife of Ahasuerus.

2. a book of the Bible bearing her name. Esth.

3. a number of prayers, visions, interpretations of dreams, etc., that are included in the Douay Bible as chapters 10–16.

4. a female given name.

---

Esther British  

/ ˈɛstə /

noun

1. a beautiful Jewish woman who became queen of Persia and saved her people from massacre

2. the book in which this episode is recounted

---

Esther Cultural  

1. A book of the Old Testament that tells the story of a beautiful Jewish woman named Esther who is chosen by the king of Persia (now Iran; see Persian Empire) to be his queen. Esther, with the aid of her cousin Mordecai, stops a plot to massacre the Jews (see also Jews) in Persia, and Mordecai becomes the king's chief minister.

---

Discover More

This event is celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim.

Etymology

Origin of Esther

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin Hester, from Greek Esthēr, from Hebrew Estēr; further origin uncertain; possibly from Persian sitareh, setāre “star, fate”; possibly from Akkadian Ishtar; cf. Aphrodite ( def. ), Ishtar ( def. ), star ( def. )

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Esther

Wanjiru's niece, Esther Njoki, told the BBC that the family learnt of the postponement through the UK embassy and had received no official explanation.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Esther finds someone new, but when she learns about them, playing those feelings about her intuition is fascinating.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

If I was Esther, I would like feel like I got my gut punched.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Dame Esther presented That's Life! for 21 years and set up Childline in 1986, and later The Silver Line helpline for older people.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Brent, Momma, Nan, Wynn, Holly, Miss Esther, and Abby’s family all managed to squeeze onto our patch of lawn together.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---