new moon

noun

1

: the moon's phase when it is in conjunction with the sun so that its dark side is toward the earth

also : the thin crescent moon seen shortly after sunset for a few days after the actual occurrence of the new moon phase

2

: the beginning of each Jewish month marked by a special liturgy

Examples of new moon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That causes a new moon to also align for a solar eclipse. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

But don’t panic — this Virgo new moon eclipse is a healing balm. —Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 29 Aug. 2025

Our new moon calendar has the dates for the next new moon and those for the rest of the year. —Harry Bennett, Space.com, 28 Aug. 2025

That doesn’t happen every new moon because the moon’s orbit around the Earth is inclined by 5 degrees with respect to Earth’s orbit around the sun. —Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 24 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for new moon

• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon
• buffoon
• cartoon
• cocoon
• festoon
• gaboon
• harpoon
• immune
• impugn

Kids Definition

new moon

noun

: the moon's phase when its dark side is toward the earth

also : the thin curved outline of the moon seen shortly after sunset for a few days after the actual occurrence of the new moon phase