lunar

adjective

lu·​nar ˈlü-nər 

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

Soyuz was originally conceived as part of a lunar landing project. —Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 17 Dec. 2025

In preparation for lunar landings later this decade, 2026 will see ongoing test flights of Space X’s Starship vehicle, not to mention Firefly Aerospace’s effort to deploy a lunar satellite for the European Space Agency and to deliver payloads to the far side of the moon. —The Editors, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025

Beaming solar power down to the lunar surface will be key to NASA’s plans to establish a permanent human presence there. —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025

The Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle, so Hanukkah’s dates differ year to year from the standard-use Gregorian calendar’s date. —Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 10 Dec. 2025

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

Phrases Containing lunar

• lunar caustic
• lunar eclipse
• lunar module
• lunar month

Rhymes for lunar

• schooner
• sooner
• spooner
• tuner
• lacunar
• semilunar

Kids Definition

lunar

adjective

lu·​nar ˈlü-nər 

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