the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, situated slightly less than 1° from the north celestial pole. It is a Cepheid variable, with a period of four days. Visual magnitude: 2.08–2.17; spectral type: F8Ib
2.
a.
a type of US two-stage intermediate-range ballistic missile, usually fired by a submerged submarine
b.
(as modifier)
a Polaris submarine
Word origin
shortened from Medieval Latin stella polāris polar star
Polaris in American English
(poʊˈlærɪs)
noun
a binary Cepheid variable, the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor; North Star;Pole Star: magnitude, 1.95 to 2.05: used for navigation, since it is the closest star to the north celestial pole and remains nearly stationary throughout the night
Word origin
ModL < ML (stella) polaris, polar (star): see pole2
Examples of 'Polaris' in a sentence
Polaris
"Faslane is just a short ride across the water from Holy Loch where we ran a Polaris Squadron for thirty years.