lodestar
noun
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If you’re looking for inspiration, lodestar may represent the mother lode. The literal, albeit archaic, meaning of lodestar is “a star that leads or guides”; it is a term that has been used especially in reference to the North Star, a star in the Ursa Minor, or Little Dipper, constellation. The lode in both lodestar and mother lode comes from the Middle English word for “course” (lode is still used in some parts of England to mean “waterway”). Both the starry sense of lodestar and the more earthly “something or someone that leads or guides a person or group of people” meaning date back to the 14th century, the time of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who used both in his work. The literal sense had mostly fallen out of use by the early 17th century, but the figurative use shines on.
Examples of lodestar in a Sentence
Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 13 Oct. 2024
The American flag, the lodestar of the Republican look since Nixon, took over.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2024
The Manner — New York City Where it’s located: Standard International has been a lodestar of the lifestyle hotel movement since opening its first property in West Hollywood in 1999.
—Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Sep. 2024
For many anti-Trump conservatives, the lodestar remains Ronald Reagan.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lodestar 
Dictionary Entries Near lodestar
Cite this Entry
“Lodestar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lodestar. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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