lunar

adjective

lu·​nar ˈlü-nər How to pronounce lunar (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While the moon crew has a packed schedule testing Orion and performing lunar observations, meal time will be allocated for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026 For that reason, NASA wants to use the Artemis II mission to ensure that both pieces of hardware are working as intended before putting boots back on the lunar surface. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2026 For the first time in half a century, countdown clocks began ticking Monday toward launch of a three-man one-woman crew on a trip to the moon and back, a major step in NASA's accelerated drive to establish a lunar beachhead with landings in 2028, followed by construction of a moon base. William Harwood, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026 The next flight in the program, Artemis III, aims to conduct further technology demonstrations in low-Earth orbit — notably, docking in space with a second spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the lunar surface. Tom Costello, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lunar

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of lunar was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Lunar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lunar. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

lunar

adjective
lu·​nar ˈlü-nər How to pronounce lunar (audio)
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

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