Synonyms

North Star

American

noun

Astronomy.

Polaris.

North Star British

noun

another name for Polaris

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

North Star Scientific

See Polaris

North Star Cultural

A star positioned along the line in space that includes the axis (see also axis) of rotation of the Earth. For this reason, the star does not appear to move in the sky, but remains fixed above the North Pole.

Discover More

Locating the North Star is useful in navigation.

Etymology

Origin of North Star

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

North Star

It says the spot spread for BlueScope’s North Star steel plant is up 1% week-on-week at US$848/metric ton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Metro writes that Miliband set out how a two-state solution in the region is the government's "North Star".

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Chinatown has always been a North Star in Jessica Wang’s life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

You may feel like the black sheep of your family, but you can be the North Star of your own life, and your son’s life, and your friends’ lives.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

“I am lost and the sun will not set for a month. There is no North Star to guide me.”

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023