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.
And beyond our atmosphere, the Artemis II astronauts set a record Monday as the farthest humans from Earth during a lunar flyby promising magnificent views of the far side never before witnessed. Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2026 The Artemis crew is now in a lunar flyby, during which they're expected to see both the near and far asides of the moon and engage in intense lunar observation. CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026 One is to observe color variations on the lunar surface. Brendan Byrne, NPR, 6 Apr. 2026 As Orion approaches the Moon, the astronauts are observing and documenting lunar terrain, including regions on the far side that have never been directly seen by human eyes. Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Apr. 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 8 Apr. 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