lunar
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the moon.
the lunar orbit.
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measured by the moon's revolutions.
a lunar month.
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resembling the moon; round or crescent-shaped.
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of or relating to silver.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to the moon
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occurring on, used on, or designed to land on the surface of the moon
lunar module
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relating to, caused by, or measured by the position or orbital motion of the moon
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of or containing silver
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Relating to the Moon.
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Measured by the revolution of the Moon around the Earth.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lunar
First recorded in 1585–95, lunar is from the Latin word lūnāris of the moon. See Luna, -ar 1
Explanation
The adjective lunar is used to describe something that is related to the moon. If you like astronomy, you probably enjoy lunar eclipses, when the Earth casts its shadow on the moon. Lunar comes from the Latin word luna, meaning moon. The Roman goddess of the moon is called Luna (Selene in Greek mythology). There are lunar eclipses, a lunar calendar, lunar tides, and lunar orbits. Maybe you want to be the first live-in chef on a lunar space station. You can also hear lunar in the word lunatic — they used to think insanity was related to the cycles of the moon.
Vocabulary lists containing lunar
Over The Moon: Planetary Vocabulary
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Eclipse Vocabulary
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February Vocabulary Words
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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.
Despite the double-digit growth, Tencent's quarterly earnings would be "impacted by rising AI investment costs and slower video-game sales, which were affected by the relatively late Lunar New Year holiday".
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
"If the spacecraft can see Lunar Pathfinder and Lunar Pathfinder can see the Earth then you can bounce the information that way instead."
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team discovered a new crater by carefully comparing images of the same area taken at different times.
From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026
Separate government data released Tuesday showed that industrial output fell 2.1% month-on-month in February, following a 4.3% increase in January when demand was boosted ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
The Lunar Lander needed to be able to blast off from the moon and reconnect with the mother ship for the trip back to Earth.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
