# oyster

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɔɪ.stə/ · frequency rank #14,181

## Definitions
1. Any of certain marine bivalve mollusks, especially those of the family Ostreidae (the true oysters), 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. The delicate oyster-shaped 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. A pale beige color tinted with grey or pink, like that of an oyster.
4. A person who keeps secrets.
5. Something at one's disposal.
6. A shoplifter.
7. Ellipsis of Oyster card.

## Etymology
From Middle English oystre, from Old English ostre, reinforced or superseded by Anglo-Norman oistre, which is from Old French oistre, uistre (compare modern French huître); both lines (Old English and Old French) from Latin ostrea, from Ancient Greek ὄστρεον (óstreon). Doublet of ostro (“a purple dye”).

## Easily confused with
- **oysters** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oyster-vs-oysters)
- **outer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/outer-vs-oyster)
- **otter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/otter-vs-oyster)
- **Ofsted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ofsted-vs-oyster)
- **ouster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ouster-vs-oyster)

## Common misspellings (9)
`osyter`, `oysetr`, `oysster`, `oysterr`, `oystre`, `oystter`, `oytser`, `oyyster`, `yoster`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/oyster