moonlight
Americannoun
adjective
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pertaining to moonlight.
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illuminated by moonlight.
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occurring by moonlight, or at night.
verb (used without object)
noun
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Also called: moonshine. light from the sun received on earth after reflection by the moon
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(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
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moonlightsimple
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moonlightssimple
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have moonlightedperfect
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has moonlightedperfect
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am moonlightingprogressive
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are moonlightingprogressive
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is moonlightingprogressive
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have been moonlightingperfect progressive
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has been moonlightingperfect progressive
Past
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moonlightedsimple
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had moonlightedperfect
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was moonlightingprogressive
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were moonlightingprogressive
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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:
That meant some reflected moonlight from clouds in the lower atmosphere was present, but not enough to overwhelm the much fainter airglow signal.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
Their rapid run up has also at times forced state insurance commissioners to moonlight as forensic accountants, teasing out company relationships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 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
“You start to appreciate things more, I think, when your whole life is shaken up,” Kaslow said, looking out at the moonlight glimmering across the marina.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
When the cloud passed and the moonlight returned, the coachman was gone.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Our everyman is Ben Reilly — played by the incomparable Nicolas Cage, making his live-action television debut — a private investigator who moonlights as the city’s only superhero, the Spider.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Attorney Mark Lanier moonlights as a preacher, and it shows when he’s taking on the world’s most powerful companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 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
“Right. I suppose he moonlights as a boxer?”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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
He also moonlighted under assumed names at several radio stations in the Washington area.
From New York Times ● Jan. 23, 2024
Kickers were now specialists, not linemen who moonlighted on fourth down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 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
So, I moonlighted as a concierge at the Marriott Hotel and sold lingerie at Nordstrom.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
Some didn’t even sell insurance full-time, moonlighting from jobs in real estate or other fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 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
The 24-year-old is moonlighting at Eurovision from his day job at the Vienna State Opera, where he's had roles in The Magic Flute and Von der Liebe Tod.
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
Beside him was Ahmad Al-Ali, a 20-year-old nursing student who was now moonlighting in construction to help pay expenses for his wife and two kids, as well as his parents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 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.
