1
a
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
H. R. Haggard4
: 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
mooned; mooning; moons
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.
: to spend time in idle reverie : behave abstractedly
fans mooning over movie stars
Synonyms
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.
Recent Examples on the WebChris Mueller, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
There was a balloon arch and Southwest staffers dressed as the sun and moon for one last photo op on the way out.
—Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 9 Apr. 2024
The hour, minute and seconds hands are also treated with a luminous compound, and in a final flourish, so are the stars and moon in the sky of the moon phase disk.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
This occurs during the day when the sun, moon and Earth align in a straight line.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
Jim Rash, Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson round out the cast for the film that takes place against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 moon launch in 1968.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Unlike your sun sign (determined by the month in which you were born) and your moon sign (determined by the day you were born), your rising sign is determined by the time you were born.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024
When Does Ramadan Start? Traditionally, Ramadan starts when those authorities observe the first signs of the new crescent moon, around a day or two after the new moon, meaning that clear skies in one area and cloudy skies in another could alter the month’s specific starting time.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
The majestic moon shots, each chronicled with video on his personal Twitter/X account, are the product of hours upon hours of tweaking his mechanics.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
But unfortunately for me, George Eliot doesn’t at any point go off on one about Dorothea’s potentially problematic drinking, nor does Daphne du Maurier’s titular heroine moon a TV camera by inelegantly sliding down a fire station pole.
—Lauren O’Neill, Vogue, 17 July 2023
His running commentary was informative and funny, helping fill in the story of the landscape and of its stranger features—like the many rafters who kept mooning the train.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 July 2023
Leon continued the post, adding a shot of herself mooning the camera in the catsuit while posing with her label-mate Sammy before adding a final clip of herself doing sultry poses on a glowing dance floor.
—Zizi Strater, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023
Unfortunately, there is a fair bit of mooning on the part of both Will and Summer.
—The Rachel Weisz Gay Index, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2023
There are some quirky moments with the various surrealists — André Breton, Max Ernst and Hans Bellmer get the greatest spotlight — mooning around the Villa, saying bizarre things and celebrating holidays in weird ways.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2023
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
Noun
Dark half of moon faces Earth during solar eclipse
A solar eclipse is, by definition, when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, contrary to the video's claim.
—Chris Mueller, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
There was a balloon arch and Southwest staffers dressed as the sun and moon for one last photo op on the way out.
—Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 9 Apr. 2024
The hour, minute and seconds hands are also treated with a luminous compound, and in a final flourish, so are the stars and moon in the sky of the moon phase disk.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
This occurs during the day when the sun, moon and Earth align in a straight line.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
Jim Rash, Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson round out the cast for the film that takes place against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 moon launch in 1968.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Unlike your sun sign (determined by the month in which you were born) and your moon sign (determined by the day you were born), your rising sign is determined by the time you were born.
—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024
When Does Ramadan Start? Traditionally, Ramadan starts when those authorities observe the first signs of the new crescent moon, around a day or two after the new moon, meaning that clear skies in one area and cloudy skies in another could alter the month’s specific starting time.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
The majestic moon shots, each chronicled with video on his personal Twitter/X account, are the product of hours upon hours of tweaking his mechanics.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
The New York Times, April 12, 1985, Lasers measure distance to moon to within an inch, scientists say
The Institute of Physics, accessed Jan. 16, The Moon’s distance from Earth
Thank you for supporting our journalism.
—USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024
But unfortunately for me, George Eliot doesn’t at any point go off on one about Dorothea’s potentially problematic drinking, nor does Daphne du Maurier’s titular heroine moon a TV camera by inelegantly sliding down a fire station pole.
—Lauren O’Neill, Vogue, 17 July 2023
His running commentary was informative and funny, helping fill in the story of the landscape and of its stranger features—like the many rafters who kept mooning the train.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 July 2023
Leon continued the post, adding a shot of herself mooning the camera in the catsuit while posing with her label-mate Sammy before adding a final clip of herself doing sultry poses on a glowing dance floor.
—Zizi Strater, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023
Unfortunately, there is a fair bit of mooning on the part of both Will and Summer.
—The Rachel Weisz Gay Index, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2023
There are some quirky moments with the various surrealists — André Breton, Max Ernst and Hans Bellmer get the greatest spotlight — mooning around the Villa, saying bizarre things and celebrating holidays in weird ways.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Apr. 2023
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near moon
Cite this Entry
“Moon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moon. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
moon
1 of 2 noun1
a
: the earth's natural satellite that shines by reflecting light from the sun and revolves about the earth in about 29½ days
2
: an unspecified and usually long period of time
took many moons to complete
moonless
adjective
-ləs
moon
2 of 2 verb
: to spend time daydreaming
Medical Definition
moon
nounLove words? Need even more definitions?
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