sun

¹ American  

[suhn] / sʌn /

noun

1. (often initial capital letter) the star that is the central body of the earth's solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat: its mean distance from the earth is about 93 million miles (150 million km), its diameter about 864,000 miles (1.4 million km), and its mass about 330,000 times that of the earth; its period of surface rotation is about 25 days at its equator but longer at higher latitudes.

2. the sun considered with reference to its position in the sky, its visibility, the season of the year, the time at which or the place where it is seen, etc.

3. a star, especially one that has planets and other celestial bodies revolving around it.

   Many other solar systems have multiple suns, while ours has just one.

4. sunshine; the heat and light from the sun.

   to be exposed to the sun.

5. a figure or representation of the sun, as a heraldic bearing usually surrounded with rays and marked with the features of a human face.

6. something likened to the sun in brightness, splendor, etc.

7. Chiefly Literary.

   1. clime; climate.

   2. glory; splendor.

8. sunrise or sunset.

   They traveled hard from sun to sun.

9. Archaic.

   1. a day.

   2. a year.

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verb (used with object)

sunned, sunning

1. to expose to the sun's rays.

2. to warm, dry, etc., in the sunshine.

3. to put, bring, make, etc., by exposure to the sun.

verb (used without object)

sunned, sunning

1. to be exposed to the rays of the sun.

   to sun in the yard.

idioms

1. under the sun, on earth; anywhere.

   the most beautiful city under the sun.

2. place in the sun, a favorable or advantageous position; prominence; recognition.

   The new generation of writers has achieved a place in the sun.

3. against the sun, counterclockwise.

4. with the sun, clockwise.

Sun. ² American  

Or Sund

abbreviation

1. Sunday.

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Sun. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Sunday

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sun ² British  

/ sʌn /

noun

1. the star at the centre of our solar system. It is a gaseous body having a highly compressed core, in which energy is generated by thermonuclear reactions (at about 15 million kelvins), surrounded by less dense radiative and convective zones serving to transport the energy to the surface (the photosphere ). The atmospheric layers (the chromosphere and corona ) are normally invisible except during a total eclipse. Mass and diameter: 333 000 and 109 times that of earth respectively; mean distance from earth: 149.6 million km (1 astronomical unit)

2. any star around which a planetary system revolves

3. the sun as it appears at a particular time or place

   the winter sun

4. the radiant energy, esp heat and light, received from the sun; sunshine

5. a person or thing considered as a source of radiant warmth, glory, etc

6. a pictorial representation of the sun, often depicted with a human face

7. poetic a year or a day

8. poetic a climate

9. archaic sunrise or sunset (esp in the phrase from sun to sun )

10. to become slightly sunburnt

11. a prominent or favourable position

12. nautical to measure the altitude of the sun in order to determine latitude

13. slight sunstroke

14. on earth; at all

    nobody under the sun eats more than you do

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verb

1. to expose (oneself) to the sunshine

2. (tr) to expose to the sunshine in order to warm, tan, etc

sun Scientific  

/ sŭn /

1. Often Sun. A medium-sized, main-sequence star located in a spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy, orbited by all of the planets and other bodies in our solar system and supplying the heat and light that sustain life on Earth. Its diameter is approximately 1,392,000 million km (865,000 mi), and its mass, about 330,000 times that of Earth, comprises more than 99 percent of the matter in the solar system. It has a temperature of some 5.7 million degrees C (28.3 million degrees F) at its core, where nuclear fusion produces tremendous amounts of energy, mainly through the series of reactions known as the proton-proton chain. The energy generated in the core radiates through a radiation zone to an opaque convection zone, where it rises to the surface through convection currents of the Sun's plasma. The Sun's surface temperature (at its photosphere) is approximately 6,200 degrees C (11,200 degrees F). Turbulent surface phenomena analogous to the Earth's weather are prevalent, including magnetic storms, sunspots, and solar flares. The Sun was formed along with the rest of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago and is expected to run out of its current hydrogen fuel in another 5 billion years, at which point it will develop into a red giant and ultimately into a white dwarf.

2. See Table at solar system See Note at dwarf star

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sun Cultural  

1. The star around which the Earth revolves.

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sun More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing sun

• everything but the kitchen sink (under the sun)
• make hay while the sun shines
• nothing new under the sun
• place in the sun

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Discover More

The sun is about 4.5 billion years old and is expected to remain in its present state for approximately another six billion years; it will eventually evolve into a white dwarf.

Other Word Forms

• sunlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of sun

First recorded before 900; Middle English sonne, sun(e), son(e), Old English sunne; cognate with German Sonne, Old Norse sunna, Gothic sunno; akin to Old Norse sōl, Gothic sauil, Latin sōl, Greek hḗlios, Welsh haul, Lithuanian saũlė, Polish słońce

Example Sentences

It's Saturday afternoon and the tournament resembles a beach bash in full swing, costumed bodies heaving under the blazing sun.

From BBC

Harnessing even a tiny fraction of the sun’s energy, perhaps with space-based collectors, could provide humanity all the power we’d need for millennia.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The sun hides behind the mountains,” we read.

From The Wall Street Journal

Elsewhere in Omdurman, Hassan Bachir laid the table as neighbours rolled out a mat, all waiting for the sun to set.

From Barron's

The soil is packed with poisons, and massive dust storms obscure the sun for months.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• star
• sunlight