lunar

adjective

lu·​nar ˈlü-nər 

also -ˌnär

1

: crescent, lunate

Who grasps the struggling heifer's lunar horns.

—Alexander Pope

2

a

: of, relating to, or resembling the moon

lunar craters

a lunar landscape

b

: designed for use on the moon

lunar vehicles

3

: measured by the moon's revolution

lunar month

Examples of lunar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

San Diegans may not be able to see such lunar features and celestial events up close, but for local amateur astronomers, the ability to see the stars from afar brings them closer to the vastly unknown universe. —Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026

But during the unfolding of the historical lunar flyby mission — the first human moon visit in nearly 54 years — Rise also became a symbol far beyond serving as a demonstration of when Integrity left Earth's gravity. —Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2026

Koch and her fellow Artemis II crew members — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — traveled 694,481 miles, making their lunar flyby the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth. —Francie Ebert, NBC news, 13 Apr. 2026

Around Earth, the agency plans to test docking procedures between its Orion spacecraft and the lunar landers that will carry astronauts from the moon’s orbit down to its surface. —Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English lunare, borrowed from Latin lūnāris "of the moon, crescent-shaped," from lūna "moon" + -āris -ar; lūna going back to Indo-European *lou̯k-s-neh₂, derivative of the verb stem *leu̯k- "become bright," whence also Old Church Slavic luna "moon," Russian luná, Old Prussian lauxnos "stars," Armenian lusin "moon"; from a stem *lou̯k-s-no- Old Irish lúan in día lúain "Monday," Avestan raoxšna- "light," (with presumed zero-grade) Greek lýkhnos "lamp" — more at light entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing lunar

• lunar caustic
• lunar eclipse
• lunar module
• lunar month

Rhymes for lunar

• schooner
• sooner
• spooner
• tuner
• lacunar
• semilunar

Kids Definition

lunar

adjective

lu·​nar ˈlü-nər 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling the moon

lunar craters

a lunar landscape

2

: measured by the moon's revolution

lunar month

Medical Definition

lunar

adjective

lu·​nar

ˈlü-nər also -ˌnär

: lunate