moonshine

noun

moon·​shine ˈmün-ˌshīn 

1

: moonlight

2

: empty talk : nonsense

3

: intoxicating liquor

especially : illegally distilled corn whiskey

Synonyms

• alcohol
• booze
• bootleg
• drink

Examples of moonshine in a Sentence

Everything they said was just a load of moonshine.

during Prohibition, moonshine and “bathtub gin” were made secretly

Recent Examples on the Web

The family has one outside contact: an on-air acquaintance named Augusta (Elizabeth Saunders), who trades her moonshine for their weed at a nearby depot. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2025

Tours include an entire history of moonshining in Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky, an overview of the distilling process, and four tasting tokens that can be used for beer or moonshine in the brewery and distillery. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 20 Sep. 2024

Its moonshine is made of 100% corn. —Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Denver Post, 30 Dec. 2024

The free gift appears to be an Uzi, some ammo, a helmet, armour and a bottle of moonshine, which certainly isn’t a bad collection of loot for free. —Mike Stubbs, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for moonshine

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

moonshine

noun

moon·​shine ˈmün-ˌshīn 

1

: moonlight entry 1

2

: meaningless talk : nonsense

3

: alcoholic liquor

especially : illegally produced whiskey made from corn

moonshiner

-ˌshī-nər

noun