Definitions for Oyster
ˈɔɪ stəroys·ter

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 4 votes

1. oysternoun

   marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters

2. huitre, oysternoun

   edible body of any of numerous oysters

3. oysterverb

   a small muscle on each side of the back of a fowl

4. oysterverb

   gather oysters, dig oysters

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. oysternoun

   Any marine bivalve mollusk of the Family Ostreidae, usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers.

2. oysternoun

   A name popularly given to the delicate morsel of dark meat contained in a small cavity of the bone on each side of the lower part of the back of a fowl.

3. oysternoun

   A person who keeps secrets and private information to him- or herself.

4. oysterverb

   To fish for oysters.

5. oysteradjective

   Of a pale beige colour tinted with grey or pink, like that of an oyster.

6. Etymology: ostre, from ostrea; reinforced or superseded in by oistre, from oistre, uistre (modern French huître), also from ostrea, from ὄστρεον.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oysternoun

   A bivalve testaceous fish.

   Etymology: oester, Dutch; huitre, Fr.:

   I will not lend thee a penny ——
   —— Why then the world’s mine oyster which
   I with sword will open. William Shakespeare, Merr. W. of Wind.

   Rich honesty dwells like your miser, sir, in a poor house;
   as your pearl in your foul oyster. William Shakespeare.

   Another mass held a kind of oyster shell, and other bivalves. John Woodward, on Fossils.

   There may be as many ranks of beings in the invisible world superior to us, as we are superior to all the ranks of being in this visible world; though we descend below the oyster to the least animated atoms discovered by microscopes. Isaac Watts, Improv. of the Mind.

   Where oyster tubs in rows
   Are rang’d beside the posts, there stay thy haste. John Gay.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oyster

   Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all oysters are in the superfamily Ostreoidea. Some types of oysters are commonly consumed (cooked or raw), and in some locales are regarded as a delicacy. Some types of pearl oysters are harvested for the pearl produced within the mantle. Windowpane oysters are harvested for their translucent shells, which are used to make various kinds of decorative objects.

FreebaseRate this definition:1.5 / 2 votes

1. Oyster

   The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified. Some kinds of oysters are commonly consumed, cooked or raw, by humans as a delicacy. Other kinds, such as pearl oysters, generally not eaten by humans, are harvested for the pearl produced within the mantle.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Oyster

   ois′tėr, n. a well-known bivalve shellfish, used as food.—ns. Oys′ter-bank, -bed, -farm, -field, -park, a place where oysters breed or are bred; Oys′ter-catch′er, the sea pie—a sea wading bird of the family Hæmatopodidæ, having dark plumage and red bill and feet; Oys′ter-fish′ery, the business of catching oysters; Oys′ter-knife, a knife for opening oysters.—n.pl. Oys′ter-pat′ties, small pies or pasties made from oysters.—n. Oys′ter-shell, the shell of an oyster.—n.pl. Oys′ter-tongs, a tool used to dredge up oysters in deep water.—ns. Oys′ter-wench, -wife, -wom′an, a woman who vends oysters. [O. Fr. oistre (Fr. huître)—L. ostrea—Gr. ostreon, an oyster—osteon, a bone.]

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. OYSTER

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oyster is ranked #33990 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Oyster surname appeared 669 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Oyster.
   
   97.7% or 654 total occurrences were White.
   1.2% or 8 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Bivalve
   • Gather

Anagrams for Oyster »

1. storey

2. Troyes

3. rosety

How to pronounce Oyster?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Oyster in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Oyster in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Oyster in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of Oyster in a Sentence

1. Robert Cecil Day Lewis:

   No good poem, however confessional is may be, is just a self-expression. Who on earth would claim that the pearl expresses the oyster?

2. Phyllis McGinley:

   Women are the fulfilled sex. Through our children we are able to produce our own immortality, so we lack that divine restlessness which sends men charging off in pursuit of fortune or fame or an imagined Utopia. That is why we number so few geniuses among us. The wholesome oyster wears no pearl, the healthy whale no ambergris, and as long as we can keep on adding to the race, we harbor a sort of health within ourselves.

3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

   Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.

4. Matthew Gray:

   Finding a pearl in an edible oyster is very rare, anecdotally, it's estimated to be something like 1/10,000, but I think this is being generous.

5. Kimball House co-owner Bryan Rackley:

   Education is our game, if we're just throwing them out with crackers and hot sauce, we're not giving people the chance to appreciate the oyster to the level we're enjoying them.

Popularity rank by frequency of use