lunar

adjective lu·nar \ ˈlü-nər also -ˌnär \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Definition of lunar

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

See lunar defined for English-language learners

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Recent Examples of lunar from the Web

More recently, the agency has rolled out a multiyear blueprint promoting small private lunar landers, and then transitioning to joint industry-government efforts to develop manned vehicles.

— andy pasztor, WSJ, "Elon Musk’s SpaceX Delays Plans for First Space Tourists to Circle Moon," 4 June 2018
Blue Origin is busy working on a lunar lander designed to carry payloads of up to five tons to the moon.

— elizabeth weise, USA TODAY, "Amazon's Jeff Bezos says we need to leave Earth to survive. First stop: a city on the moon," 29 May 2018
It’s solidly anchored to its present by its Apollo-white and communication dishes that could have been pulled off the lunar lander.

— ars staff, Ars Technica, "The Millennium Falcon is OK, but these pop culture ships make Ars hearts race," 26 May 2018
His exclusive subject was the space program and, in particular, the lunar missions.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "Alan Bean, fourth man to walk on the moon, dies at 86," 26 May 2018
A year later, an unmanned Chinese spacecraft orbited the moon to test equipment and techniques for a future lunar mission.

— mike ives, New York Times, "As America Looks Inward, China Looks to Outer Space," 23 May 2018
On Apollo 13, the lunar lander was indeed used as a life raft.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "First space mission to the moon recounted in new book," 21 May 2018
In fact, the mission was full of unknowns and potential disasters: If Apollo 8's engine hadn't ignited, the crew might have been stranded in lunar orbit.

— thom patterson, CNN, "How space travel can unite a fractured world," 18 May 2018
One highlight is seeing the bottom half of the Apollo 17 lunar lander, which is still on the moon.

— staff, The Christian Science Monitor, "Top Picks: Laura Veirs' 'The Lookout,' the podcast 'Circle Round,' and more top picks," 4 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lunar.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of lunar

Middle English, from Latin lunaris, from luna moon; akin to Latin lucēre to shine — more at light

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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LUNAR Defined for English Language Learners

lunar

adjective

Definition of lunar for English Language Learners

: of or relating to the moon

LUNAR Defined for Kids

lunar

adjective lu·nar \ ˈlü-nər \

Definition of lunar for Students

1 : of or relating to the moon

lunar rock

2 : measured by the revolutions of the moon

a lunar month

Medical Dictionary

lunar

adjective lu·nar \ ˈlü-nər also -ˌnär \

medical Definition of lunar

: lunate

Learn More about lunar

See words that rhyme with lunar Spanish Central: Translation of lunar Nglish: Translation of lunar for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of lunar for Arabic speakers

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lunar

Definition of lunar

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LUNAR Defined for English Language Learners

lunar

Definition of lunar for English Language Learners

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lunar

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lunar

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