lunar

adjective

lu·​nar ˈlü-nər How to pronounce lunar (audio)
also -ˌnär
1
: crescent, lunate
Who grasps the struggling heifer's lunar horns.Alexander Pope
2
a
: of, relating to, or resembling the moon
lunar craters
a lunar landscape
b
: designed for use on the moon
lunar vehicles
3
: measured by the moon's revolution
lunar month

Examples of lunar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the years ahead, a lunar lander configuration of Starship will be critical to NASA's ambitions of returning astronauts to the moon under its Artemis program. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 18 May 2026 Space Camp officials say registrations have doubled this summer since the successful completion of the lunar flyby mission in April. Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 18 May 2026 Helmy said the shooting comes at the start of the 12th month of the lunar Muslim calendar, Dhu al-Hijjah, during which many Muslims go on their Hajj pilgrimage and celebrate Eid al-Adha. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026 Additionally, researchers learned that the ants combine their impressive lunar compass with terrestrial and solar cues, at dawn and dusk, to navigate consistently even as moon visibility varies during the lunar month. K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 17 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for lunar

Word History

Etymology

Middle English lunare, borrowed from Latin lūnāris "of the moon, crescent-shaped," from lūna "moon" + -āris -ar; lūna going back to Indo-European *lou̯k-s-neh2, derivative of the verb stem *leu̯k- "become bright," whence also Old Church Slavic luna "moon," Russian luná, Old Prussian lauxnos "stars," Armenian lusin "moon"; from a stem *lou̯k-s-no- Old Irish lúan in día lúain "Monday," Avestan raoxšna- "light," (with presumed zero-grade) Greek lýkhnos "lamp" — more at light entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lunar was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lunar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lunar. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

Kids Definition

lunar

adjective
lu·​nar ˈlü-nər How to pronounce lunar (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or resembling the moon
lunar craters
a lunar landscape
2
: measured by the moon's revolution
lunar month

Medical Definition

lunar

adjective
lu·​nar
ˈlü-nər also -ˌnär
: lunate

More from Merriam-Webster on lunar

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster