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

The company not only develops its two rockets – the large New Glenn and much smaller New Shepard used in space tourism flights – but other space technology as well, including human lunar landers. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025

But a source familiar with the matter said that Isaacman has expressed an intention to partner with whichever company most quickly produces an astronaut-worthy lunar lander. —Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 10 Nov. 2025

Even when cropped so that the lunar disc filled the centre of the frame, the shots remained in detail with sharp contrast. —Harry Bennett, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025

Let this lunar energy be a permission slip to say no, log off, close the tab, and take the long way home. —Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 9 Nov. 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