sun
(often initial capital letter) the star that is the central body of the earth's solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat: its mean distance from the earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km), its diameter about 864,000 miles (1.4 million km), and its mass about 330,000 times that of the earth; its period of surface rotation is about 25 days at its equator but longer at higher latitudes.
the sun considered with reference to its position in the sky, its visibility, the season of the year, the time at which or the place where it is seen, etc.
a star, especially one that has planets and other celestial bodies revolving around it: Many other solar systems have multiple suns, while ours has just one.
sunshine; the heat and light from the sun: to be exposed to the sun.
a figure or representation of the sun, as a heraldic bearing usually surrounded with rays and marked with the features of a human face.
something likened to the sun in brightness, splendor, etc.
Chiefly Literary.
clime; climate.
glory; splendor.
sunrise or sunset: They traveled hard from sun to sun.
Archaic.
a day.
a year.
to expose to the sun's rays.
to warm, dry, etc., in the sunshine.
to put, bring, make, etc., by exposure to the sun.
to be exposed to the rays of the sun: to sun in the yard.
Idioms about sun
against the sun, Nautical. counterclockwise.
place in the sun, a favorable or advantageous position; prominence; recognition: The new generation of writers has achieved a place in the sun.
under the sun, on earth; anywhere: the most beautiful city under the sun.
with the sun, Nautical. clockwise.
Origin of sun
1Other words from sun
- sun·like, adjective
Words Nearby sun
Other definitions for Sun. (2 of 2)
Sunday.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sun in a sentence
Vast power of the sun is tapped by battery using sand ingredient.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green | Summer Praetorius | September 16, 2020 | NautilusAny sun shirt is better than no sun shirt, but I like the Crossover because it’s so damn comfortable.
The Gear That Lets Me Enjoy the Last Days of Summer | Graham Averill | September 15, 2020 | Outside Online“Maybe when Venus comes around on the other side of the sun again,” Greaves says, “things will be better for us here on Earth.”
Phosphine gas found in Venus’ atmosphere may be ‘a possible sign of life’ | Lisa Grossman | September 14, 2020 | Science NewsAs the sun rose, a new series of medical experts began to evaluate her.
At the moment, it’s about the equivalent of standing outside at noon in the sun, about 1 kW per square meter.
New Zealand Is About to Test Long-Range Wireless Power Transmission | Jason Dorrier | August 30, 2020 | Singularity Hub
There was deep brown flesh, and bronze flesh, and pallid white flesh, and flesh turned red from the hot sun.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’ | Asawin Suebsaeng | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThey will do it,” Revels declared, “as certainly as the sun shines in the heavens.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate | Philip Dray | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe nanas and poppies and grannies and grampses who flocked there to roast in the sun.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’ | Asawin Suebsaeng | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTHe likes when the sun glances off it from the top, because it looks like the black marlin.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTShe had to break the news to William that The sun had the story.
Pulled Documentary Says William Felt ‘Used’ by Charles’ Push for Camilla | Tom Sykes | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBehold a dumpy, comfortable British paterfamilias in a light flannel suit and a faded sun hat.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordIt was very warm, and for a while they did nothing but exchange remarks about the heat, the sun, the glare.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe sun was shining when they arrived at Salon, the gayest, the most coquettish, the most laughing little town in Provence.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeOnly the petrol tins they took for water right and left of their pathway up the cliff; huge diamonds in the evening sun.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonI am pleading for a clear white light of education that shall go like the sun round the whole world.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
British Dictionary definitions for sun (1 of 2)
/ (sʌn) /
the star at the centre of our solar system. It is a gaseous body having a highly compressed core, in which energy is generated by thermonuclear reactions (at about 15 million kelvins), surrounded by less dense radiative and convective zones serving to transport the energy to the surface (the photosphere). The atmospheric layers (the chromosphere and corona) are normally invisible except during a total eclipse. Mass and diameter: 333 000 and 109 times that of earth respectively; mean distance from earth: 149.6 million km (1 astronomical unit): Related adjective: solar
any star around which a planetary system revolves
the sun as it appears at a particular time or place: the winter sun
the radiant energy, esp heat and light, received from the sun; sunshine
a person or thing considered as a source of radiant warmth, glory, etc
a pictorial representation of the sun, often depicted with a human face
poetic a year or a day
poetic a climate
archaic sunrise or sunset (esp in the phrase from sun to sun)
catch the sun to become slightly sunburnt
place in the sun a prominent or favourable position
shoot the sun or take the sun nautical to measure the altitude of the sun in order to determine latitude
touch of the sun slight sunstroke
under the sun or beneath the sun on earth; at all: nobody under the sun eats more than you do
to expose (oneself) to the sunshine
(tr) to expose to the sunshine in order to warm, tan, etc
Origin of sun
1Derived forms of sun
- sunlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Sun. (2 of 2)
Sunday
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for sun
[ sŭn ]
Often Sun. A medium-sized, main-sequence star located in a spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy, orbited by all of the planets and other bodies in our solar system and supplying the heat and light that sustain life on Earth. Its diameter is approximately 1,392,000 million km (865,000 mi), and its mass, about 330,000 times that of Earth, comprises more than 99 percent of the matter in the solar system. It has a temperature of some 5.7 million degrees C (28.3 million degrees F) at its core, where nuclear fusion produces tremendous amounts of energy, mainly through the series of reactions known as the proton-proton chain. The energy generated in the core radiates through a radiation zone to an opaque convection zone, where it rises to the surface through convection currents of the Sun's plasma. The Sun's surface temperature (at its photosphere) is approximately 6,200 degrees C (11,200 degrees F). Turbulent surface phenomena analogous to the Earth's weather are prevalent, including magnetic storms, sunspots, and solar flares. The Sun was formed along with the rest of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago and is expected to run out of its current hydrogen fuel in another 5 billion years, at which point it will develop into a red giant and ultimately into a white dwarf. See Table at solar system. See Note at dwarf star.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for sun
Notes for sun
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with sun
In addition to the idiom beginning with sun
- sun belt
- sunny side
also see:
- everything but the kitchen sink (under the sun)
- make hay while the sun shines
- nothing new under the sun
- place in the sun
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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