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

In just one week, a spectacular display of orbital mechanics will be visible to billions of people across the Americas, Asia, and Oceania, as Earth's shadow sweeps across the lunar disk, triggering the onset of an awe-inspiring 'blood moon' total lunar eclipse. —Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 24 Feb. 2026

The discovery of the issue marks the latest setback for NASA's reinvigorated lunar program, which aims to return Americans to the moon's surface for the first time since the Apollo era. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026

The Lunar New Year, which marks the beginning of a new year according to lunar calendars, is an ancient Chinese tradition and is celebrated with festivals around the world. —Kansas City Star, 23 Feb. 2026

Blue Ghost will land on the lunar far side carrying LuSee Night, which will deploy directly from the spacecraft. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 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