(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ is the object that you can often see in the sky at night. It goes round the Earth once every four weeks, and as it does so its appearance changes from a circle to part of a circle.
...the first man on the ~...
...the light of a full ~.
N-SING: usu the N, also full/new N
see also new ~
2.
A ~ is an object similar to a small planet that travels around a planet.
...Neptune’s large ~.
N-COUNT: usu poss N
3.
If you say that something happens once in a blue ~, you are emphasizing that it does not happen very often at all.
Once in a blue ~ you get some problems.
PHRASE: PHR with cl emphasis
4.
If you say that you are over the ~, you mean that you are very pleased about something. (BRIT INFORMAL)
= overjoyed
PHRASE: v-link PHR