supermoon

noun

su·​per·​moon ˈsü-pər-ˌmün 

plural supermoons

: a full moon occurring when the moon is at or near the closest point in its orbit

A supermoon … occurs when the moon is full within 24 hours of being at its closest point to the Earth in its orbit.

—Kaleigh Rogers

Visible supermoons appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than full moons that occur at the farthest point in the moon's orbit.

—Karen Hao

As the first and only supermoon of 2017 rose high into the sky this Sunday (Dec. 3), astrophotographers seized the opportunity to shoot the moon in all its bigger-than-usual glory.

—Hanneke Weitering

Examples of supermoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The flip side of this phenomenon is a supermoon, which is when the moon reaches its perigee (its closest approach to Earth) and appears much larger in the sky. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 10 Apr. 2025

Unfortunately, a full supermoon on the peak of Oct. 8th (30 percent brighter than your average full moon) will likely block all but the most spectacular meteors. —Michael D'estries, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2025

But this year's full Harvest Moon, which also just so happened to be an exceptionally large and bright supermoon, another phenomenon occurred: a partial lunar eclipse. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2024

With the sky lit up with a supermoon over the stadium and the game remaining 11-6, Mets closer Edwin Diaz came in to face three of the best Dodger hitters - Pages, Ohtani and Betts. —Jacob Lev, CNN, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supermoon

• afternoon
• forenoon
• honeymoon
• laocoon
• opportune
• pantaloon
• picayune
• tablespoon
• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon