oyster Hear it!

oyster Definition

oys·ter (o̵is′tər)

noun

  1. any of various bivalve mollusks with an irregularly shaped, unequal shell, living attached to rocks, other shells, etc., and widely used as food
  2. the soft, edible part of such a mollusk
  3. the oyster-shaped bit of meat contained in a depression on each side of the pelvic bone of a fowl
  4. something from which profit or advantage can be extracted the world is my oyster
  5. Informal a taciturn person

Etymology: OFr oistre < L ostrea < Gr ostreon, oyster; akin to osteon, a bone: see ossify

intransitive verb

to gather, raise, or dredge oysters
oyster Synonyms

oyster

n.

bivalve, mollusk, sea food; see clam, fish, shellfish.

Types of oysters include: blue point, rock, pearl, saddle, Olympia, Wellfleet, American-Canadian, Portuguese, Japanese, Gigantic, Chinese, European, British Columbian, Australian mud, flat, saddlerock, cove, box, wild, tonged, dredged.

oyster Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • shuck: To spend half an hour in conversation with him is something akin to trying to shuck an oyster.
  • eat: A man would need to eat oysters for several days to feel a noticeable effect!
  • smoke: It may be possible to find imported chocolate, tinned prawns or smoked oysters - even vegemite!
  • serve: At a banquet in 1904 the oysters served were poisoned and caused the death of the Dean of Winchester and others.
  • include: These foods include oysters, meats, seafood, poultry and eggs.
  • open: It is not difficult to open an oyster with a sword.

Adjective modifier

  • pearl: The presence of shells of the pearl oyster, Pinctada radiata, in deposits at the site suggest an possible involvement in pearling.
  • native: I nearly forgot, the whole thing was topped with a juicy native oyster, fabulous!
  • delicious: Ate delicious oysters at the bar in the fish market.
  • raw: Frozen raw oysters will keep in a standard UK freezer for up to three months.
  • fresh: I'd prefer it with some fresh oysters myself!
  • flat: Also occurring in flat oysters, where the eggs are incubated on the gills.

Modifies a noun

  • catcher: While here you may also observe oyster catchers, geese and the endemic steamer duck along the rocky shores.
  • mushroom: Each cap is about 1cm across, much like small oyster mushrooms.
  • shell: White oyster shell may be part of some gravel mixes.
  • sauce: Slice the shallots into rings and heat in the oyster sauce.
  • fishery: There are also some private oyster fisheries based on historic rights.
  • bed: The oyster beds in the Firth of Forth were famous.

Noun used with modifier

  • dozen: Jenkins said that he trained on ' champagne and a dozen oysters ' .
  • rock: Notable starters were the Irish rock Oysters and the scallops with truffle oil or Saffron sauce.
oyster Quotes

An oyster may be crossed in love!

—Sheridan, Richard Brinsley

   He was a bold Man that first ate an Oyster.

—Swift,Jonathan

Roderick Spode? Big chap with a small moustache and the sort of eye that can open an oyster at sixty paces?

—Plum

No oyster ever profited from its pearl.

—Thurber,James Grover

An oyster of the old school whom nobody can open.

—Dickens, CharlesJohn Huffam

There's nothing in Christianity or Buddhism that quite matches the sympathetic unselfishness of an oyster.

—Saki pseudonym of  Hector Hugh Munro

If you don't love life you can't enjoy an oyster.

—Clark, Eleanor