moon
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The natural satellite of the Earth.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
moonIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmun
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
informalby extension of Moon
The natural satellite of the Earth
“The average distance to the Moon is 384,400 kilometers.”
informalby extension of Moon
Any natural satellite of a planet.
A representation of the moon, usually as a crescent or as a circle with a face; a crescent-shaped shape, symbol, or object.
The eighteenth trump/major arcana card of the tarot.
A crescent-like outwork in a fortification.
United States religious leader (born in Korea) who founded the Unification Church in 1954; was found guilty of conspiracy to evade taxes (born in 1920)
verb
To spend time idly, absent-mindedly.
intransitivecolloquial
To gaze at lovingly or in adoration.
intransitivecolloquialusually followed by over or after
To fuss over something adoringly; to be infatuated with someone.
transitive
To expose to the rays of the Moon.
transitive
To adorn with moons or crescents.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The natural satellite of the Earth
Used this way, moon is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
“The average distance to the Moon is 384,400 kilometers.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Nearby words
- lunation , much rarer in everyday speech
- synodic month , much rarer in everyday speech
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use moon
- “The average distance to the Moon is 384,400 kilometers.”noun
- “He made a moon lamp that he used as a night light.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Evergreen shrub of southern European highlands having downy foliage and a succession of yellow flowers throughout the summer followed by curious snail-shaped pods.
The worship of the moon.
Be idle in a listless or dreamy way.
Tall leafy-stemmed Eurasian perennial with white flowers.
Someone who imports or exports without paying duties.
Any plant of the genus Seseli having dense umbels of small white or pink flowers and finely divided foliage.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- jupiternoun
- venusnoun
- spacecraftnoun
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.