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

Rolling on the lunar surface But MACEDONAS represents only the second stage in the lunar delivery system that Kosmas has envisioned with his company, Lunar Cargo. —Julian Dossett, Space.com, 12 June 2025

That price raises questions about whether these vehicles will ever be able to support a lunar space station or Moon base where astronauts can routinely rotate in and out on long-term expeditions, like researchers do in Antarctica today. —ArsTechnica, 11 June 2025

There is evidence that stone monuments marked the moon's 18.6 lunar cycle. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

This year's strawberry moon is not just a typical lunar display but marks the most significant low-angle full moon viewers will see for nearly two decades. —Kate Nalepinski, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 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