oyster

[oi-ster]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oyster ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of several edible, marine, bivalve mollusks of the family Ostreidae, having an irregularly shaped shell, occurring on the bottom or adhering to rocks or other objects in shallow water.

the oyster-shaped bit of dark meat in the front hollow of the side bone of a fowl.

Slang. a closemouthed or uncommunicative person, especially one who keeps secrets well.

something from which a person may extract or derive advantage: The world is my oyster.

oyster white.

verb (used without object)

to dredge for or otherwise take oysters.

Origin of oyster

1325–75; Middle English oistre < Middle French < Latin ostrea < Greek óstreon; see ostracize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for oyster

dusty, drab, grey, silvery, clam, crustacean, mollusk, snail, scallop, conch, crawfish, prawn, shrimp, lobster, mussel, oyster, stone, lead, slate, neutral

Examples from the Web for oyster

Contemporary Examples of oyster

If you want to be a human being, and a popular human being, then you have to stop being an oyster and come out of your shell.
How to Be Popular, ’50s Style: ‘Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek’
Maya Van Wagenen
April 17, 2014
What a sauce that is,” he enthused, “which dresses an oyster I suck from the mouth of the woman I love!
Seduce Like a Writer: How 7 Famous Scribes Wooed
Joni Rendon, Shannon McKenna Schmidt
February 13, 2014
I added a few impossible positions, just to have a little fun, like the Swan Flying over the Oyster Shell.
The Business of Sex: Amy Tan’s ‘The Valley of Amazement’ on Shanghai Courtesans
Jane Ciabattari
November 8, 2013
A television series, Mama, was broadcast from a studio above The Oyster Bar beginning in 1949.
Grand Central Terminal: 100 Years, 100 Facts
Sarah Begley
February 1, 2013
Other, greener options, like wetland restoration or oyster reefs, could also help slow waves before they reach the city.
Hurricane Sandy’s Lesson for Flood-Proofing a Subway
Josh Dzieza
November 4, 2012

Historical Examples of oyster

He has the constitution of a rhinoceros, the digestion of an ostrich, and the concentration of an oyster.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
One morning Gervaise surprised her emptying a basket of oyster shells there.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola
Strain in the milk, add the oyster liquor, stir, and cook well.
The Skilful Cook
Mary Harrison
Strain in the milk and oyster liquor, and stir and cook well.
The Skilful Cook
Mary Harrison
Otherwise they were canned as the Tricholoma and oyster mushroom.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard

British Dictionary definitions for oyster

oyster

noun

any edible marine bivalve mollusc of the genus Ostrea, having a rough irregularly shaped shell and occurring on the sea bed, mostly in coastal waters
(as modifier)oyster farm; oyster knife

any of various similar and related molluscs, such as the pearl oyster and the saddle oyster (Anomia ephippium)

the oyster-shaped piece of dark meat in the hollow of the pelvic bone of a fowl

something from which advantage, delight, profit, etc, may be derivedthe world is his oyster

informal a very uncommunicative person

verb

(intr) to dredge for, gather, or raise oysters

Word Origin for oyster

C14 oistre, from Old French uistre, from Latin ostrea, from Greek ostreon; related to Greek osteon bone, ostrakon shell

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

Word Origin and History for oyster

early 14c., from Old French oistre (Modern French huître), from Latin ostrea, plural or fem. of ostreum "oyster," from Greek ostreon, from PIE *ost- "bone" (see osseous). Related to Greek ostrakon "hard shell" and to osteon "bone."

Why then the world's mine Oyster, which I, with sword will open. [Shakespeare, "The Merry Wives of Windsor," II.ii.2]

Idioms and Phrases with oyster

oyster

see world is one's oyster.