moonlight

[ moon-lahyt ]

noun

1. the light of the moon.

adjective

1. pertaining to moonlight.
2. illuminated by moonlight.
3. occurring by moonlight, or at night.

verb (used without object)

, moon·light·ed, moon·light·ing.

1. to work at an additional job after one's regular, full-time employment, as at night.

moonlight

/ ˈmuːnˌlaɪt /

noun

1. Also calledmoonshine light from the sun received on earth after reflection by the moon
2. modifier illuminated by the moon

   a moonlight walk

3. See moonlight flit
   short for moonlight flit

verb

1. informal.
   intr to work at a secondary job, esp at night, and often illegitimately

Derived Forms

• ˈmoonˌlighter, noun

Other Words From

• moonlighter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of moonlight¹

1325–75; 1950–55 moonlight fordef 5; Middle English monelight

Example Sentences

If you run a side business — for example, if you moonlight as an accounting teacher and are paid as an independent contractor — you can still claim the deduction.

From Washington Post

Whatever the case, this month’s show should be especially good because moonlight won’t interfere.

From Science News

The quarterback who threw the pass was a baseball prospect moonlighting as a Heisman Trophy front-runner.

From Washington Post

If the same interaction on Europa creates this never-before-seen kind of moonlight, a future mission there, such as NASA’s planned Europa Clipper spacecraft, may be able to use this ice glow map Europa’s surface composition.

From Science News

It’s approximately … as bright as me walking on the beach in full moonlight.

From Science News

Magic in the Moonlight really seems to explore the battle between pragmatism and “magic.”

From The Daily Beast

Magic in the Moonlight co-stars Colin Firth and Emma Stone paid their respects.

From The Daily Beast

In the bed, I found blond hair awash in moonlight: my cousin Sally.

From The Daily Beast

Throne of my lonely niche, my wealth, my love, my moonlight.

From The Daily Beast

Effectively, men and women who once worked to keep guns off of the streets must now moonlight as gun dealers.

From The Daily Beast

Her white face looked ethereal in the moonlight, and her bloodless lips were quivering with returning life.

From Project Gutenberg

Again she watched his figure pass in and out of the strips of moonlight as he walked away.

From Project Gutenberg

In the brilliant moonlight, on the white road, the branches cast a network of black shadow.

From Project Gutenberg

She lifted up her face on which the moonlight fell, making a picture the man never forgot to the last day of his life.

From Project Gutenberg

She sat still, looking out through the open window to the moonlight that lay on the white stone of the balcony floor.

From Project Gutenberg