moonshot

Or moon shot

[moon-shot]

noun

1. the act or procedure of launching a rocket or spacecraft to the moon.

2. a very challenging and innovative project or undertaking.

   Technology companies are investing in moonshots that address the world’s greatest problems.

3. Baseball.,  a high-velocity home run in which the ball reaches an extraordinary height.

   What could be more exciting than a bases-clearing moonshot over the right field wall in the bottom of the eleventh inning?

adjective

1. relating to or noting a very challenging and innovative project or undertaking.

   His department takes moonshot ideas and brings them to reality.

moonshot

/ ˈmuːnˌʃɒt /

noun

1. the launching of a spacecraft, rocket, etc, to the moon

Word History and Origins

Origin of moonshot¹

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50 moonshot for def. 1; moon + shot ¹; the baseball sense, also capitalized as Moon shot, was named after Wallace Wade “Wally” Moon (1930–2018), U.S. baseball player, whose home run helped the Dodgers win the 1959 pennant

Example Sentences

Bitcoin is the moonshot: It’s 10% of your portfolio, max, and only if you can watch it crater 50% without selling in a panic and buying a Peloton.

Read more on MarketWatch

Earlier this month, Google researchers released a paper about “Project Suncatcher,” the company’s research “moonshot” to build data centers in space.

Read more on Slate

China’s Moonshot AI is nearing a dollar funding round that could boost its valuation to around $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Moonshot aims to close the funding round by the end of this year, some of the people said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Moonshot and IDG didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal