noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈlʌstə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Northern-England:/ˈlʊstə/
rhymes with -ʌstə
CMU ARPABET:L AH1 S T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
UK standard spelling of luster (shine, etc.).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Various kinds of minerals differ in their lustre; iron pyrites are described as having a metallic lustre, glassy materials a vitreous lustre; others, such as opal, look resinous, and the lustres of yet others are described as being either pearly, or silky, or dull, like earth.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Alternative form of luster: A 5-year period, especially (historical) in Roman contexts.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Alternative form of luster: a den, a dwelling-place in a wilderness, especially for animals.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, alt-of, alternative, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
Alternative form of luster.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a surface coating for ceramics or porcelain
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: luster
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: glaze
6
noun
Meaning 6
the visual property of something that shines with reflected light
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: luster, brilliancy, splendor, splendour
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: brightness
History
Etymology
From Middle French lustre. See luster (etymology 1).
From Middle English lustre, from Latin lustrum, from Old Latin *loustrom, of uncertain origin. More at lustrum.
From Latin lustra (“wilds, woods”), thought to derive from unattested *dustrum, from unattested Ancient Greek *δύστρον (*dústron, “place animals wallow”), from δύω (dúō, “to plunge, to wallow”).
