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

The trans-lunar injection, or TLI, burn placed Apollo 8 crew members Frank Borman, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell on a trajectory to advance the United States ahead of the Soviet Union by becoming the first nation to orbit people around the moon. — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 3 Oct. 2026

Except in large telescopes, the satellites might be lost in the glare of the bright lunar crescent just prior to disappearing behind the moon, but their emergence from behind the Moon's dark side should be especially dramatic. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Elytra will also have high-resolution telescopes onboard to enable Firefly’s Ocula lunar imaging service that provides advanced lunar surface mapping, mineral detection, and reconnaissance. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026

The new research also adds to the growing body of evidence that the moon once possessed a stronger magnetic field more than 4 billion years ago, said Isaac Narrett, lead author of the unrelated 2025 study on the lunar magnetic field. — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026

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