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

No, the Corn Moon is not a supermoon. —Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025

Upcoming full moons Look out for four more full moons this year, with supermoons — full moons that appear while the moon is at its closest to Earth — occurring in October, November and December. —Gina Park, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2025

No, there is no supermoon in August. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025

The moon orbits Earth in a slight ellipse, so a full moon can sometimes be slightly closer than usual — a supermoon. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 11 July 2025

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