Classical Mythology. the ancient Roman goddess of the hearth, worshiped in a temple containing an altar on which a sacred fire was kept burning by the vestal virgins: identified with the Greek Hestia.
Astronomy. the second largest and by far the brightest asteroid in our solar system, discovered in 1807 and located in the asteroid belt.
(lowercase) a short friction match with a wood or wax shank.
a female given name.
The brightest of all the asteroids and the fourth to be discovered, in 1807. It is the third largest, with a diameter of about 530 km (329 mi), and the only asteroid that can be seen without a telescope. Evidence of lava flows on its surface suggests that it once had a molten interior.
See more at asteroid
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin; possibly akin to Greek Hestía; possibly derivative of Latin ūrere “to burn”
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thursday, the department was notified of a service disruption affecting the Vesta System, a third-party public safety call-handling platform used to manage 911 calls within the Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Going all out, I once tried to go to a fancy-dress party as a Swan Vesta matchbox, wearing an elaborate cardboard contraption painted with a lot of time and effort.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
At 500km long, the star is about the same size as Vesta - the second-largest asteroid in our solar system.
From BBC ● Feb. 29, 2024
One, Project Vesta, in 2022 spread an alkaline mineral called olivine on a Long Island beach to test whether that would result in more alkaline waters as waves wash the material out to sea.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 30, 2023
Vesta, the largest, is perhaps 400 miles in diameter, and if composed of substances similar to those which make up the earth, its mass may be perhaps one twenty-thousandth of the earth's mass.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck
In the corner of my eye, I watched him draw a match from his brass vesta case and light it with an unassuming flick of his fingers.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Pretending to be him, I took my vesta case from my pocket, clunky and unfashionable compared to the slim brass one Yakov had worn suspended from his watch chain.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Drawing a match from his silver vesta case, Frankie lit the cigar.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
He stood regarding me from a safe distance, with a sly pale smile, and the wax vesta held on high.
From Witching Hill by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)
Heedless of Blake’s warning cry, Winthrope had struck his last vesta, and now, angry and bewildered, he stood staring while the little taper burned itself out.
From Into the Primitive by Bennett, Robert Ames
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
