north star

plural north stars

1. figurativelyAlternative letter-case form of North Star (“guiding light”).

   But it is he, and his vision for Norway, that is my north star.

   2018, Linnea Hartsuyker, The Sea Queen

   3 more examples

   Purpose is a company's north star, the 'why' a company does what it does, not the what or the how.

   2019, Nina Montgomery, Perspectives on Purpose

   "You are your own north star. But you are a north star to someone else as well." —"Really?" "Yes. You are my north star, too."

   2021, Akshaya Kosuri, MK Pavani, Two Worlds Apart, page 129

   “The 1.5C target must be our north star,” [Ilana] Seid said. “We need to say that collectively we are falling short on that, and we need to have a response.”

   2025 November 10, Fiona Harvey, quoting Ilana Seid, “Rich countries have lost enthusiasm for tackling climate crisis, says Cop30 chief”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

1. astronomyThe current northern pole star, the star nearest the northern celestial pole, which for Earth has been Polaris for the last 1500 years.

   Near-synonyms: pole star, polar star

   1 more example

   The ships would leave Europe in April, when there was a good easterly wind. Trans-Atlantic mariners wanted the wind dead on the stern, so they could run with it, sticking to the same latitude—a method called easting and westing. Columbus, Cabot, and many others had done this. Until the eighteenth century, there was no reliable way to measure longitude, which helps explain why so many could make landfalls from the Bahamas to Newfoundland and believe they were near Asia. Latitude could be fixed by the relationship to the North Star or the sun, one of the few things known in the sixteenth century about celestial navigation. Westing ships out of Bristol reached the Labrador coast and dropped down to Newfoundland. Bretons went straight to the Grand Bank and St. John's.

   1997, Mark Kurlansky, “Chapter 4: 1620: The Rock and the Cod”, in Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Walker, →ISBN

   Synonyms: Pole Star, Lode Star, pole star, polar star

2. A locality in the Gwydir council area, north eastern New South Wales, Australia.
3. A hamlet in the County of Northern Lights, Alberta, Canada.
4. An unincorporated community in Yuba County, California, formerly North Star House.
5. A census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware.
6. An unincorporated community in Nicollet County, Minnesota.
7. A village in Darke County, Ohio.
8. An unincorporated community in Portage County, Wisconsin.
9. A number of townships in the United States, listed under North Star Township.
10. A settlement on the island of Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands.

plural North Stars

1. figurativelyAn aim or a goal, a dependable guiding light in a quickly changing world.

   Believing that he would return to life when he was ready, she became his North Star.

   2019, Karen A. McClintock, When Trauma Wounds: Pathways to Healing and Hope, page 155

   3 more examples

   For Wilson, his religion served as guiding principle, not a series of explicit religious dictates governing politics: “Wilson's principles, derived from his religious faith, were his North Star, which pointed him in a general direction.

   2012, Darrin Grinder, Steve Shaw, The Presidents & Their Faith

   His North Star was Rome, his compass was the Holy Office, “My polar star is Rome; my compass is the Holy Office.”

   2018, Frank M. Guttman, Honoré Beaugrand: a Traditional “Rouge”?

   The wise voice in my head agreed with her and told me something I'd never forget: Stop going against yourself. Be you. All the way. And watch life work for you. This voice, my intuition, has become my North Star in life.

   2021, Ashley Stahl, You Turn, page 272