moon

SayMOON/mun//muːn/

15 meanings of moon

1
nouncountable
Earth's natural satellite, visible at night by reflected sunlight, or the appearance it presents at a particular time.
Twelve astronauts have walked on the moon.
A full moon rose over the hills and lit up the whole valley.
UsageMostly the moon, often capitalized as the Moon in science writing. Phase expressions allow a or the: a full moon, the full moon.
2
satellitenouncountable
A natural satellite that orbits a planet, a dwarf planet, or a smaller body such as an asteroid.
Saturn's many moons range from tiny rocks to bodies larger than some planets.
Astronomers recently confirmed another moon orbiting the distant gas giant.
UsageUse lowercase moon or moons for natural satellites generally: a moon of Saturn, Saturn's moons. Earth's own is often the Moon.
Similarsatellite
Note
Calling the companions of Jupiter or Saturn moons stretches that one name to every such body. The stretch is standard English, used by astronomers too, and the moons of Jupiter sounds perfectly natural, while natural satellite is the more technical phrase.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The general name moons for other natural satellites extends the name of Earth's Moon by analogy. en.wikipedia.org
3
designnouncountable
A depiction of the moon, often shown as a crescent or as a circle with a face, or a crescent-shaped figure or object.
The nursery wallpaper featured a smiling moon surrounded by stars.
Each card in the deck bore a golden moon stamped at its center.

Less common meanings

4
show bottomverbcolloquialtransitive
To bare one's buttocks toward someone, usually as a joke, insult, or form of protest.
Protesters mooned the politician's motorcade as it drove past.
He threatened to moon the crowd if they kept booing.
UsageMoon the crowd, with no preposition. Moon over someone is different: it means to pine for them.
5
have a crushverbcolloquialintransitive
To be infatuated with someone and show it dreamily, as by gazing at them adoringly, usually with over, after, or at.
She mooned over the new neighbor for weeks.
Don't moon after someone who never calls you back.
UsageMost often moon over someone; moon after and moon at also occur.
Similarswoon, pine
6
rise in priceverbslangintransitive
To increase in price rapidly or sharply.
Traders kept predicting the token would moon before the year ended.
The currency mooned after the celebrity endorsement.
UsageCommon in cryptocurrency trading: the coin mooned, the token mooned, or the price mooned.
Similarsoar, skyrocket, rocket, surge
Oppositecrash, plummet
Note
Trader slang from cryptocurrency markets, where the subject is a coin or token: a currency moons, a pick mooned. Mark Grabowski's Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money (2019) uses it of a pundit's lucky Hail Mary pick, which captures its boastful tone.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Mark Grabowski wrote Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money, first published in 2019. en.wiktionary.org
The book uses mooned of a cryptocurrency pundit's successful Hail Mary pick. en.wiktionary.org
7
monthnounliterarycountable
A month, especially a lunar month.
Many moons passed before the wanderer saw home again.
They agreed to meet again within a moon.
UsageMostly in many moons, often many moons ago, in storytelling or playful use.
Similarmonth
Note
One of the word's oldest meanings survives here. The root it descends from meant both "moon" and "month," and probably comes from a verb meaning "to measure." Shakespeare's Othello (written about 1603) counts "some nine moons wasted," and Thomas Love Peacock's Maid Marian (1822) has many moons waxing and waning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
Moon descends from a reconstructed word meaning both moon and month. en.wiktionary.org
That reconstructed word probably derives from a verb meaning to measure. en.wiktionary.org
William Shakespeare wrote Othello around 1603. en.wikipedia.org
The words 'some nine moons wasted' occur in Othello, spoken by Othello in Act 1, scene 3. folger.edu
Thomas Love Peacock wrote Maid Marian, first published in 1822. en.wikipedia.org
Maid Marian describes many moons waxing and waning. gutenberg.org
8
idle aboutverbintransitive
To spend time idly and absent-mindedly.
She mooned about the garden, lost in thought.
Since the breakup, all he wants to do is moon around his room.
UsageMostly with around or about: moon about the garden. With over it means pining for someone.
Similarmope, loaf, drift, idle
Note
The aimless member of the dreamy verbs. Joseph Conrad's skipper in Youth (1898) "mooned in the cabin," and Stephen King's narrator in The Death of Jack Hamilton (2001) "mooned around."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Joseph Conrad wrote Youth. gutenberg.org
Youth was first published in 1898. en.wikipedia.org
The skipper in Youth is described as having mooned in the cabin. gutenberg.org
Stephen King's narrator in The Death of Jack Hamilton says 'mooned around'. newyorker.com
The Death of Jack Hamilton was first published in 2001. en.wikipedia.org
9
noununcountable
Light from the moon falling on the earth after dark.
The scouts waited for a night with little moon before crossing the open field.
A pale wash of moon fell across the kitchen floor.
Similarmoonlight
10
noun
The Moon card in fortune-telling decks: the eighteenth trump of the tarot's major arcana, or the thirty-second Lenormand card.
11
verb
In hearts, to succeed in taking all the point cards in a single hand.
12
noun
In the game of hearts, the feat of capturing all the point cards in a single hand.
13
verb
To decorate or adorn something with moons or crescent shapes.
14
verb
To expose something to the light of the moon.
15
noun
An outer defensive work of a fortification, built in a shape resembling a crescent.

Practice

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Origin

Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s, meaning "moon, month", and probably built on a root *meh₁- meaning "to measure", passed through Proto-Germanic *mēnô into Old English as mōna, which became Middle English mone. Dutch maan, German Mond and Swedish måne are relatives, as are Latin mēnsis ("month") and English month.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European ancestor is *mḗh₁n̥s, meaning "moon, month". en.wiktionary.org
The Proto-Indo-European noun probably derives from *meh₁-, meaning "to measure". en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry passes through Proto-Germanic *mēnô to Old English mōna. en.wiktionary.org
Old English mōna became Middle English mone, the ancestor of modern English moon. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch maan, German Mond and Swedish måne are cognates of English moon. en.wiktionary.org
Latin mēnsis means "month" and is cognate with English moon. en.wiktionary.org
English month is etymologically related to moon. en.wiktionary.org