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 addition, since the moon will be a lovely waning crescent, as opposed to a waxing gibbous in January and February, stars will disappear first along the bright lunar crescent. —Joe Rao, Space.com, 19 July 2025

Unable to get actual lunar dust, the team bought lunar regolith simulant, a terrestrial material that is synthesized to approximate the chemical, mechanical, mineralogical and other properties of lunar dust. —Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 18 July 2025

New Glenn is also tapped by NASA to fly Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar landers, one of which is contracted to be the human landing system for the Artemis V mission no earlier than 2029. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2025

In addition to locally practical information like calendars, lunar cycles, roads and court dates, almanacs regularly published the birthdays of the British monarchs and their children. —Karin Wulf, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 July 2025

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