/ muːn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
(usually the moon ) (also the Moon ) [ sing. ] the round object that moves around the earth once every 27½ days and shines at night by light reflected from the sun :
the surface of the moon
a moon landing
2.
[ sing. ] the moon as it appears in the sky at a particular time :
a crescent moon
There's no moon tonight (= no moon can be seen) .
By the light of the moon I could just make out shapes and outlines.
—see also full moon , half-moon , new moon
3.
[ C ] a natural satellite that moves around a planet other than the earth :
How many moons does Jupiter have?
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IDIOMS
- ask, cry, etc. for the moon
- many moons ago
- over the moon
—more at once adverb , promise verb
■ verb
[ v ] ( informal ) to show your bottom to people in a public place as a joke or an insult
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PHRASAL VERBS
- moon about / around
- moon over sb
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English mōna , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch maan and German Mond , also to month , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin mensis and Greek mēn month, and also Latin metiri to measure (the moon being used to measure time).