sun

noun

\ ˈsən

Definition of sun

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a often capitalized : the luminous celestial body around which the earth and other planets revolve, from which they receive heat and light, which is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, and which has a mean distance from earth of about 93,000,000 miles (150,000,000 kilometers), a linear diameter of 864,000 miles (1,390,000 kilometers), and a mass 332,000 times greater than earth

b : a celestial body like the sun : star

2 : the heat or light radiated from the sun played in the sun all day

3 : one resembling the sun (as in warmth or brilliance)

4 : the rising or setting of the sun from sun to sun

5 : glory, splendor

in the sun

: in the public eye

under the sun

: in the world : on earth

sun

verb

sunned; sunning

Definition of sun (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to expose to or as if to the rays of the sun

intransitive verb

: to sun oneself

Sun

abbreviation

Definition of Sun (Entry 3 of 3)

Sunday

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about sun

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Synonyms for sun

Synonyms: Noun

sunlight,
sunshine

Examples of sun in a Sentence

Noun The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. the warmth of the sun's rays They dream of traveling to distant suns. Try to keep out of the sun. The cat lay basking in the sun. Verb People sunned themselves on the hillside.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The problem with that is that the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow—at least not everywhere across the state and not all at once. — Gregory Barber, Wired, "When the Grid Goes Down, Can a Fleet of Batteries Replace It?," 24 Feb. 2021 Scientists think stellar-mass black holes, which contain up to a few times the sun's mass, form when giant stars die and collapse in on themselves. — Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, "Astronomers Just Upsized an Iconic Black Hole," 24 Feb. 2021 These passes will bring the probe 6.5 million miles from the sun's surface. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Amazing close-up of Venus captured by NASA Parker Solar Probe," 24 Feb. 2021 The sun lingers longer, radiating a strengthening warmth on our dark vests and jackets. — Heather E. Goodman, The Christian Science Monitor, "‘We ring in the spring together’: Sharing the secrets of maple sugaring," 22 Feb. 2021 Send comfort in the form of an angel made to catch the sun’s light and color the room with either blue or pink glass and gleaming copper foil that will patina with time. — Dana Holmes, CNN Underscored, "30 gifts for someone dealing with grief," 22 Feb. 2021 The temperature was in the thirties, but the sun was shining up Lexington, at this hour favoring the east side of the avenue. — Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, "How Restaurants Survive the Long Pandemic Winter," 22 Feb. 2021 Nearly every winter morning, Craig Gordon wakes long before the sun, slides his feet into his ski boots, grabs his touring skis and sets off into the Utah mountains to hunt for dragons. — The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah author imparts hard lessons learned by avalanche forecasters from their encounters with ‘snow dragons’," 22 Feb. 2021 After a cloudy and cool sunday morning, the sun broke through. — Dallas News, "One more cold night, then back to warmth," 21 Feb. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Tourists and occasional harbor visitors love to watch the sea lions and seals, which often sun themselves on their platform or on the rocks and docks around the harbor. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, "In Oceanside, the sea lions are winning," 2 Dec. 2020 Dark mode now has settings for a user-set schedule or syncing with sundown and sun up. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Android 11—The Ars Technica Review," 23 Sep. 2020 Litters of young rabbits came out from their forms to sun themselves upon hillocks, the hot beams blazing through the delicate tissue of each thin-fleshed ear, and firing it to a blood-red transparency in which the veins could be seen. — Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, "The Novels of Tension Between Freedom and Disaster," 10 July 2020 On a recent weekday afternoon a couple dozen people had come out to swim and sun on the park’s beaches. — al, "Mobile County has big plans for its new waterfront park," 3 July 2020 Working from sun up to sun down—and sometimes through the night—to make ends meet. — Toni Carey, SELF, "How I Learned to Stop Glorifying the Hustle and Start Living Intentionally," 22 Oct. 2019 Aside from ordering new swimsuits for sunning in our windowsills or stocking up on cocktail kits for fire-escape happy hours, those of us with access to an outdoor space (or any ol' patch of grass, really) will be investing in the inflatable pool. — Elizabeth Buxton, refinery29.com, "The Best Inflatable Pools For Whatever Outdoor Space You’re Workin’ With," 11 May 2020 Nutria often use these as feeding, grooming, loafing, and sunning platforms. — Gerry Bethge, Outdoor Life, "Hunting Nutria in the Louisiana Bayou," 21 Apr. 2020 The Mara River runs through the reserve, providing a place for hippos to splash and crocodiles to sun themselves. — Peter Terzian, Travel + Leisure, "In Kenya, an Epic Photographic Safari Through Some of Africa's Most Dramatic Landscapes," 18 Apr. 2020

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