moonlight
Americannoun
adjective
-
pertaining to moonlight.
-
illuminated by moonlight.
-
occurring by moonlight, or at night.
verb (used without object)
-
moonlights,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moonlighted,
past participle, past
-
moonlighting
present participle
noun
-
Also called: moonshine. light from the sun received on earth after reflection by the moon
-
(modifier) illuminated by the moon
a moonlight walk
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short for moonlight flit
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
moonlightsimple
-
moonlightssimple
-
have moonlightedperfect
-
has moonlightedperfect
-
am moonlightingprogressive
-
are moonlightingprogressive
-
is moonlightingprogressive
-
have been moonlightingperfect progressive
-
has been moonlightingperfect progressive
Past
-
moonlightedsimple
-
had moonlightedperfect
-
was moonlightingprogressive
-
were moonlightingprogressive
-
had been moonlightingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of moonlight
1325–75; 1950–55 moonlight for def. 5; Middle English monelight
Explanation
Moonlight is literally the light we can see shining from the moon, but to moonlight is to work a second job. Get it? You have to work in the moonlight because there aren’t enough hours in the day. Moonlight is the reflection of the sun off the moon's surface — a clear sky and a full moon provide brilliant moonlight. Smugglers hate moonlight. If you moonlight, you work a second job, and it doesn’t have to be at night. If your history teacher also works as a mascot for a baseball team, he moonlights as a dancing bear. As a verb, it used to mean “commit crimes at night,” but now just means “to work a second job.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A new moon means moonlight should not interfere with viewing, creating favourable conditions if skies remain clear.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Because the New Moon also arrives on Aug. 12, moonlight will not interfere, creating ideal dark conditions for spotting meteors.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
Many nurses moonlight to cover bills, contributing to the epidemic of burnout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
The audience rehashed its hunches, they circled potential suspects, they stared at a static image of a horrific crime scene, awash in twinkling moonlight.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026
It floated in the air, glittering in the moonlight like bits of gold dust.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Flock cameras and data centers worry Lynn, the factory supervisor, who moonlights as a social-media influencer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
A brash and confident young earthbending prodigy, Toph moonlights as a champion fighter called the Blind Bandit, unbeknownst to her overprotective upper-class parents who think their little girl is helpless.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Catriona Byers is a historian who moonlights as a food stylist.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
The show features some high-profile names in supporting roles, including Cyndi Lauper as a Broadway usher who moonlights as a private investigator and Marc Maron as the empanada shop’s landlord.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
Killian, a coal miner who moonlights as an emergency medical technician for the Healy Volunteer Fire Department, had a two- way radio on the Argo.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
But his job was his life, even though he moonlighted as a high school teacher and administrator.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
He moonlighted as an Uber driver to land the lead role advising the ride-sharing company on its 2018 offering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
But the very existence of the film, which is loosely based on a seemingly strait-laced community college instructor who moonlighted as a fake assassin for the Houston police, proves just how much they fascinate us.
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2024
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said his most nightmarish experience with the company occurred when he moonlighted as an Uber delivery driver.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2023
He moonlighted as a security guard for a jewelry company.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Busby began moonlighting in the honky tonks and was soon making more money with his mandolin than he could as a fed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
As a teenager she was moonlighting as a referee, raising enough money to fund a trip to South Africa to watch the 2010 World Cup as a fan.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
One of his lawyers has been moonlighting as a clown in his downtime, according to Business Insider.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Back in 2001, the English Premier League took that step and fans saw a drastic improvement once the referees no longer spent their days moonlighting as teachers or taxi drivers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Teachers, especially a teacher moonlighting as a counselor, tend to get left out of student gossip.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
