oyster

noun

oys·​ter ˈȯi-stər 

often attributive

1

a

: any of various marine bivalve mollusks (family Ostreidae) that have a rough irregular shell closed by a single adductor muscle and include commercially important shellfish

b

: any of various mollusks resembling or related to the oysters

2

: something that is or can be readily made to serve one's personal ends

the world was her oyster

3

: a small mass of muscle contained in a concavity of the pelvic bone on each side of the back of a fowl

4

: an extremely taciturn person

5

: a grayish-white color

Examples of oyster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Growing oysters or watering plants with contaminated water contributes to the spread of foodborne norovirus infections. —Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 9 Jan. 2025

Catherine O’Leary Commonly held belief: There are several versions, but the most common one is this — Catherine O’Leary went into the barn on the dry Sunday night of Oct. 8, 1871, with the lantern to milk one of her cows for oyster stew. —Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2025

This was an oyster dish made with watercress, scallions, celery, anise, and other seasonings created in 1899 by Jules Alciatore of Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans. —John Mariani, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

There's also Sea Salt, an oyster bar; Domaine South, which overlooks Big Spring Park; Purveyor; The Standard Social Market; Revivalist; La Esquina Cocina; and MELT, all of which keep hungry (and thirsty) visitors coming back for more. —Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English oistre, borrowed from Anglo-French oistre, ostre, going back to Latin ostrea, ostreum "bivalve mollusk, oyster," borrowed from Greek óstreion, óstreon, of uncertain origin

Note: Greek óstreion has traditionally been taken to be a derivative, with a suffix -ei-, of a stem going back to Indo-European *h₃esth₁-r-, from the base *h₃esth₁- "bone." See note at ostracon.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing oyster

• European flat oyster
• European oyster
• Olympia oyster
• oyster bed
• oyster crab
• oyster cracker
• oyster drill
• oyster mushroom
• oyster plant
• seed oyster
• the world is someone's oyster
• vegetable oyster

Kids Definition

oyster

noun

oys·​ter ˈȯi-stər 

: any of various marine mollusks that include important edible shellfish and have a rough uneven shell made up of two hinged parts and closed by a single muscle