I. sun 1 S2 W1 /sʌn/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sunne ]
1 . the sun/the Sun the large bright object in the sky that gives us light and heat, and around which the Earth moves ⇨ solar :
The sky was blue and the sun was shining.
2 . [uncountable] the heat and light that come from the sun ⇨ sunny :
Too much sun is bad for you.
in the sun
We sat in the sun, eating ice cream.
the warmth of the afternoon sun
3 . [countable] any star around which ↑ planet s move
4 . everything/anything etc under the sun used to emphasize that you are talking about a large range of things:
You can buy jeans in every colour under the sun.
5 . catch the sun British English , get some sun American English if someone catches or gets the sun, they become slightly red or brown because they have been outside in the sun
⇨ make hay while the sun shines at ↑ hay (2)
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ verbs
▪ the sun shines
When I woke, the sun was shining.
▪ the sun beats down/blazes down (=shines with a lot of light and heat)
The sun beats down on us as we work.
▪ the sun comes out (=appears when cloud moves away)
The rain stopped and the sun came out.
▪ the sun rises/comes up (=appears at the beginning of the day)
As the sun rises, the birds take flight.
▪ the sun sets/goes down (=disappears at the end of the day)
It is a good place to sit and watch the sun go down.
▪ the sun sinks (=gradually disappears at the end of the day)
The sun sank lower and the breeze grew cool.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + sun
▪ the hot/warm sun
The hot sun beat down on the men working.
▪ the blazing/burning sun
Tourists trudge around in the blazing sun.
▪ a bright sun
It was a warm day with a bright sun overhead.
▪ the morning/afternoon/evening sun
We ate breakfast outside in the gentle morning sun.
▪ the midday/noonday sun
They all sought shade from the blazing midday sun.
▪ the rising/setting sun (=the sun as it appears/disappears)
The fields were ablaze with light from the setting sun.
■ phrases
▪ the sun is high/low in the sky
They walked until the sun was low in the sky.
■ nouns
▪ the sun’s rays
This moisturiser will also protect skin from the sun’s rays.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ in the sky
▪ star a large ball of burning gas in space, which can be seen at night as a point of light in the sky:
The dark night sky was clear and full of stars.
▪ planet one of the large objects that goes around the sun, for example the Earth, Saturn, Mercury, or Mars:
The planet Uranus was discovered in 1781.
▪ sun the star that gives us light and heat, around which the planets move. There are also many millions of other suns in the universe:
The sun came out from behind a cloud.
|
a dying sun
▪ moon the round object that moves around the Earth every 28 days, or a similar object that goes around another planet:
The moon rose in the night sky.
|
Titan is one of the moons of Saturn.
▪ asteroid a mass of rock that moves around the sun. Most asteroids are found between Jupiter and Mars:
the asteroid belt
▪ pulsar a type of star that is far away in space and produces ↑ radiation and RADIO WAVES
▪ quasar an object like a star that is far away in space and shines extremely brightly
▪ supernova a very large exploding star
▪ constellation a group of stars that forms a particular pattern and has a name:
The constellation of Orion is one of the most easily recognizable patterns of stars in the night sky.
▪ galaxy one of the large groups of stars that make up the universe:
Astronomers have detected a galaxy 11 billion light years away.
▪ the universe all space, including all the stars and planets:
How many planets in the universe have life?
II. sun 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle sunned , present participle sunning )
sun yourself to sit or lie outside when the sun is shining ⇨ sunbathe :
The beaches were full of families sunning themselves.