moon

noun

\ ˈmün

Definition of moon

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a often capitalized : the earth's natural satellite (see satellite sense 1a) that shines by the sun's reflected light, revolves about the earth from west to east in about 29¹/₂ days with reference to the sun or about 27¹/₃ days with reference to the stars, and has a diameter of 2160 miles (3475 kilometers), a mean distance from the earth of about 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers), and a mass about one eightieth that of the earth —usually used with the

b : one complete moon cycle consisting of four phases (see phase entry 1 sense 1)

c : satellite sense 1 specifically : a natural satellite of a planet the moons of Jupiter

2 : an indefinite usually extended period of time a labor of many moons

3 : moonlight keep out of the moon or it may turn your head— H. R. Haggard

4 : something that resembles a moon: such as

a : a highly translucent (see translucent sense 1) spot on old porcelain

b : lunule

c slang : naked buttocks

5 : something impossible or inaccessible reach for the moon

over the moon

: very pleased : in high spirits

moon

verb

mooned; mooning; moons

Definition of moon (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to spend in idle reverie : dream —used with away mooned the afternoon away

2 slang : to expose one's naked buttocks to One of the boys mooned the crowd.

intransitive verb

: to spend time in idle reverie : behave abstractedly fans mooning over movie stars

Other Words from moon Synonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing moon Learn More About moon

Examples of moon in a Sentence

Noun The telescope makes the craters on the surface of the moon incredibly clear. the orbit of the Moon around the Earth Europa and Io are both moons of Jupiter. a planet orbited by one moon Verb One of the boys mooned the crowd. One of the boys mooned at the crowd. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun This happens when the edge of the Earth's shadow casts over the moon. — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE.com, 11 May 2022 The capacity crowd, over the moon and singing along, had already been drowning her out. — Brian Mccollum, Detroit Free Press, 24 Apr. 2022 Mom will be over the moon with a colorful ceramic watering can. — Brittney Morgan And Medgina Saint-elien, House Beautiful, 20 Apr. 2022 Baseball fans are over the moon about the return of their favorite sport following a nasty lockout. — Xl Media, cleveland, 7 Apr. 2022 Following a couple weeks of tests at the pad, the vehicle will be ready for its wet dress rehearsal the weekend of April 1 -- the final test before launching the first uncrewed Artemis mission beyond the moon and back to Earth. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 17 Mar. 2022 Cave also seemed over the moon to be presenting her film in front of a live audience with a buzzy party, red meat and all. — Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2022 From its point of observation nearly a million miles from Earth and beyond the moon, the space observatory will be able to examine the universe in new ways, and look into the atmosphere of exoplanets. — Harold Maass, The Week, 25 Jan. 2022 The world's flagship science instrument took flight from South America early Saturday, a high-stakes mission that, from well beyond the moon, will peer deeper into the universe's 13.8 billion-year history than ever before. — Emre Kelly, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb An unruly passenger flying from Ireland to New York earlier this month got into trouble after allegedly creating multiple disturbances, going so far as to moon a flight attendant and throw an empty can at another passenger. — Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2022 Bart, meanwhile, makes a statement by pulling down his leather and denim trousers to moon the audience. — CNN, 4 Oct. 2021 Incredibly, #MeToo Marilyn, her body posed tilting slightly forward, will even be positioned to moon the museum. — Christopher Knight Art Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2021 One of those includes Hayley’s brother Jack (Sam Claflin), haplessly mooning over his dream girl (Olivia Munn), an American war journalist who gets a few muttered zingers, but is otherwise stuck acting, well, dreamy. — Amy Nicholson, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2020 He’s even accused demonstrators of mooning security forces to provoke them. — Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2019 Many on social media, however, did not find the mooning pumpkin man offensive and hit out at HOA’s policies. — Alexandra Deabler, Fox News, 16 Oct. 2019 The paintings in the last two groups show their backsides, as if mooning viewers. — David Pagel, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2019 This episode, best remembered for the moment in which Julia accidentally moons a crowd (including the mayor of Atlanta), is a reminder that the series excelled at physical comedy in addition to sharp and rapid-fire dialogue. — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2019 See More

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