noun
1.
the earth's natural satellite, orbiting the earth at a mean distance of 238,857 miles (384,393 km) and having a diameter of 2160 miles (3476 km).
2.
this body during a particular lunar month, or during a certain period of time, or at a certain point of time, regarded as a distinct object or entity. Compare full moon, half-moon, new moon, waning moon, waxing moon.
3.
a lunar month, or, in general, a month.
4.
any planetary satellite: the moons of Jupiter.
5.
something shaped like an orb or a crescent.
verb (used without object)
9.
to act or wander abstractedly or listlessly: You've been mooning about all day.
10.
to sentimentalize or remember nostalgically: He spent the day mooning about his lost love.
11.
to gaze dreamily or sentimentally at something or someone: They sat there mooning into each other's eyes.
12.
Slang. to expose one's buttocks suddenly and publicly as a prank or gesture of disrespect.
00:10
Moon
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
verb (used with object)
Idioms 13.
to spend (time) idly: to moon the afternoon away.
14.
to illuminate by or align against the moon.
15.
Slang. to expose one's buttocks to as a prank or gesture of disrespect.
16.
blue moon, a very long period of time: Such a chance comes once in a blue moon.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English mone, Old English mōna; cognate with Old High German māno, Old Norse māni, Gothic mena; akin to German Mond moon, Latin mēnsis month, Greek mḗnē moon, Sanskrit māsa moon, month
before 900; Middle English mone, Old English mōna; cognate with Old High German māno, Old Norse māni, Gothic mena; akin to German Mond moon, Latin mēnsis month, Greek mḗnē moon, Sanskrit māsa moon, month
Related forms
moon·er, noun
moon·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To moon
Collins
World English Dictionary
moon (muːn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (sometimes capital) the natural satellite of the earth. Diameter: 3476 km; mass: 7.35 × 1022 kg; mean distance from earth: 384 400 km; periods of rotation and revolution: 27.32 daysRelated: lunar |
| 2. | the face of the moon as it is seen during its revolution around the earth, esp at one of its phases: new moon; full moon |
| 3. | any natural satellite of a planet |
| 4. | moonlight; moonshine |
| 5. | something resembling a moon |
| 6. | a month, esp a lunar one |
| 7. | once in a blue moon very seldom |
| 8. | informal over the moon extremely happy; ecstatic |
| 9. | reach for the moon to desire or attempt something unattainable or difficult to obtain |
| —vb (when tr, | |
| 10. | to be idle in a listless way, as if in love, or to idle (time) away |
| 11. | slang (intr) to expose one's buttocks to passers-by |
| Related: lunar | |
| [Old English mōna; compare Old Frisian mōna, Old High German māno] | |
| 'moonless | |
| —adj | |
| Moon1 (muːn) | |
| —n | |
| Compare Braille a system of embossed alphabetical signs for blind readers, the fourteen basic characters of which can, by rotation, mimic most of the letters of the Roman alphabet, thereby making learning easier for those who learned to read before going blind | |
| Moon2 (muːn) | |
| —n | |
| William. 1818--94, British inventor of the Moon writing system in 1847, who, himself blind, taught blind children in Brighton and printed mainly religious works from stereotyped plates of his own designing | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
moon
O.E. mona, from P.Gmc. *mænon- (cf. O.S., O.H.G. mano, O.Fris. mona, O.N. mani, Du. maan, Ger. Mond, Goth. mena "moon"), from PIE *me(n)ses- "moon, month" (cf. Skt. masah "moon, month;" Avestan ma, Pers. mah, Arm. mis "month;" Gk. mene "moon," men "month;" L. mensis "month;" O.C.S. meseci, Lith.
menesis "moon, month;" O.Ir. mi, Welsh mis, Bret. miz "month"), probably from base *me- "to measure," in ref. to the moon's phases as the measure of time. In Gk., Italic, Celtic, Armenian the cognate words now mean only "month." Gk. selene (Lesbian selanna) is from selas "light, brightness (of heavenly bodies)." Extended 1665 to satellites of other planets. To shoot the moon "leave without paying rent" is British slang from c.1823; card-playing sense perhaps infl. by gambler's shoot the works (1922) "go for broke" in shooting dice. The man in the moon is mentioned since c.1310; he carries a bundle of thorn-twigs and is accompanied by a dog. Some Japanese, however, see a rice-cake-making rabbit in the moon.
moon
c.1600, "to expose to moonlight;" later "idle about" (1836), "move listlessly" (1848), probably on notion of being moon struck, which is attested from 1670s; cf. Gk. selenobletos. The meaning "to flash the buttocks" is first recorded 1968, U.S. student slang, from moon (n.) "buttocks" (1756), "probably
from the idea of pale circularity" [Ayto]. See moon (n.). Related: Mooned; mooning.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
moon  (m n) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window)
Our Living Language : The Earth's Moon is a desolate and quiet place. The only natural satellite of Earth, it consists almost entirely of rock, shows no signs of ongoing geologic activity, has no water, and has a very thin atmosphere consisting primarily of sodium. But our Moon does not present a typical case for planetary satellites. Over the last 50 years, over a hundred more moons have been discovered in the solar system, so that they now total 138, nearly all of them orbiting the larger planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus (Mercury, Venus, and Pluto have no moons, while Mars has two). Because they are so far from the Sun, these moons are for the most part extremely cold. Io, one of Jupiter's 63 known moons, is an exception. It is the most geologically active body in the solar system, with almost constant volcanic activity and a surface covered by cooling lava. Some scientists think that another moon of Jupiter, Europa, may have liquid water capable of supporting life underneath a thick layer of surface ice. Titan, one of Saturn's moons, may also be capable of supporting primitive life in the ocean of liquid methane on its frigid surface. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
moon definition
A natural satellite of a planet; an object that revolves around a planet. The planets vary in the number of their moons; for example, Mercury and Venus have none, the Earth has one, and Jupiter has seventeen or more. The planets' moons, like the planets themselves, shine by reflected light.
Note: The Earth's moon is about 240,000 miles away and is about 2,000 miles in diameter. The volume of the Earth is fifty times that of the moon; the mass of the Earth is about eighty times that of the moon. The moon has no atmosphere, and its gravity is about one-sixth that of the Earth.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
moon definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Moon definition
heb. yareah, from its paleness (Ezra 6:15), and lebanah, the "white" (Cant. 6:10; Isa. 24:23), was appointed by the Creator to be with the sun "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Gen. 1:14-16). A lunation was among the Jews the period of a month, and several of their festivals were held on the day of the new moon. It is frequently referred to along with the sun (Josh. 10:12; Ps. 72:5, 7, 17; 89:36, 37; Eccl. 12:2; Isa. 24:23, etc.), and also by itself (Ps. 8:3; 121:6). The great brilliance of the moon in Eastern countries led to its being early an object of idolatrous worship (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:26), a form of idolatry against which the Jews were warned (Deut. 4:19; 17:3). They, however, fell into this idolatry, and offered incense (2 Kings 23:5; Jer. 8:2), and also cakes of honey, to the moon (Jer. 7:18; 44:17-19, 25).
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The space agency crashed a satellite on the moon in a search for water.
The inside of the moon might not be all wet after all.
Volcanoes shook up the far side of the moon for far longer than scientists thought.
Of course, you do not have to go to the moon to find cold, dark and inhospitable growing conditions.
Idioms & Phrases
Images for moon
Nearby Words
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