moonlight

American  

[moon-lahyt] / ˈmunˌlaɪt /

noun

1. the light of the moon.

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adjective

1. pertaining to moonlight.

2. illuminated by moonlight.

3. occurring by moonlight, or at night.

verb (used without object)

moonlights, present (3rd person singular) moonlighted, past participle, past moonlighting present participle

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

moonlight British  

/ ˈmuːnˌlaɪt /

noun

1. Also called: moonshine.  light from the sun received on earth after reflection by the moon

2. (modifier) illuminated by the moon

   a moonlight walk

3. short for moonlight flit

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• moonlighter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• moonlighting
  present
• moonlighted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• moonlight
  simple
• moonlights
  simple
• have moonlighted
  perfect
• has moonlighted
  perfect
• are moonlighting
  progressive
• am moonlighting
  progressive
• is moonlighting
  progressive
• have been moonlighting
  perfect progressive
• has been moonlighting
  perfect progressive

Past

• moonlighted
  simple
• had moonlighted
  perfect
• was moonlighting
  progressive
• were moonlighting
  progressive
• had been moonlighting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will moonlight
  simple
• will have moonlighted
  perfect
• will be moonlighting
  progressive
• will have been moonlighting
  perfect progressive

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

Honnold climbed Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park and the regular northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, both without ropes, in 2008.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

She didn’t know a life without Lily, but she also asks for Moonlight a lot too, and we have pictures of both of them in the room.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

Gill and Dowden received a score of 32 on Saturday night after performing a foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2024

Roybal and Choi are inventors on patents related to these discoveries and are co-founders and equity holders in Moonlight Bio.

From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2024

The Tiger King held the piece of shirt in his hands, the king of the City of Bright Moonlight said, and then became invincible.

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin