sun

[ suhn ]

/ sʌn /

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noun

(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.

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.

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.

sunshine; the heat and light from the sun: to be exposed to the sun.

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

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

Chiefly Literary.

clime; climate.
glory; splendor.

sunrise or sunset: They traveled hard from sun to sun.

Archaic.

a day.
a year.

verb (used with object), sunned, sun·ning.

to expose to the sun's rays.

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

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

verb (used without object), sunned, sun·ning.

to be exposed to the rays of the sun: to sun in the yard.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about sun

against the sun, Nautical. counterclockwise.

place in the sun, a favorable or advantageous position; prominence; recognition: The new generation of writers has achieved a place in the sun.

under the sun, on earth; anywhere: the most beautiful city under the sun.

with the sun, Nautical. clockwise.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM sun

sun·like, adjective

Other definitions for sun (2 of 2)

Sun.

or Sund

abbreviation

Sunday.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sun in a sentence

Enormous laser facilities such as NIF and OMEGA are typically built to study nuclear fusion — the same source of energy that powers the sun.
Giant lasers help re-create supernovas’ explosive, mysterious physics|Emily Conover|November 12, 2020|Science News
That means that in your house, the monstera will do well in a room without direct light, while a cactus will need a window that gets plenty of sun.
Online plant sellers are having a moment. Here’s where to shop.|Lindsey Roberts|November 11, 2020|Washington Post
In 1991, astronomers reported the best case yet for the existence of a planet around a star other than the sun.
These are science’s Top 10 erroneous results|Tom Siegfried|November 10, 2020|Science News
Temperatures should be in the 70s all four days, but there won’t be much in the way of sun.
The Masters in 2020 will be unlike any other. Here’s what you need to know.|Matt Bonesteel|November 9, 2020|Washington Post

It’s especially bad overnight when there’s no sun to stir and mix the atmosphere.
PM Update: Warm, stagnant air continues into tomorrow|A. Camden Walker|November 8, 2020|Washington Post
Pale women and children emerged from their laager, put on their finery, sunned themselves, and did their shopping.
South African Memories|Lady Sarah Wilson
These tenements are scoured once a week, when the beds are sunned, and every thing turned out.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine
Over all, the sunned but unwarmed sky bends its blue arch, as cold as the snowy fields and woods beneath it.
In New England Fields and Woods|Rowland E. Robinson
Paint and floors were scoured; walls swept; beds shaken and sunned, and furniture polished.
Bee and Butterfly|Lucy Foster Madison
He heard Yan's story in silence, then, "Have ye sunned your blankets sense ye came?"
Two Little Savages|Ernest Thompson Seton

British Dictionary definitions for sun (1 of 2)

sun

/ (sʌn) /

noun

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)Related adjective: solar

any star around which a planetary system revolves

the sun as it appears at a particular time or placethe winter sun

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

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

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

poetic a year or a day

poetic a climate

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

catch the sun to become slightly sunburnt

place in the sun a prominent or favourable position

shoot the sun or take the sun nautical to measure the altitude of the sun in order to determine latitude

touch of the sun slight sunstroke

under the sun or beneath the sun on earth; at allnobody under the sun eats more than you do

verb suns, sunning or sunned

to expose (oneself) to the sunshine

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

Derived forms of sun

sunlike, adjective

Word Origin for sun

Old English sunne; related to Old High German sunna, Old Frisian senne, Gothic sunno

British Dictionary definitions for sun (2 of 2)

Sun.

abbreviation for

Sunday

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for sun

sun

[ sŭn ]

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

Cultural definitions for sun

sun

The star around which the Earth revolves.

notes for sun

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 Idioms and Phrases with sun

sun

In addition to the idiom beginning with sun

sun belt
sunny side

also see:

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