moon

moon

I

moon¹ W3 /muːn/ noun1. the moon/the Moon the round object that you can see shining in the sky at night, and that moves around the Earth every 28 days:
    the craters on the surface of the moon
    The Americans landed on the Moon in 1969.
    The moon appeared from behind a cloud.
    The moon rose into the sky.
    The moon was shining in the sky.
2. [countable usually singular] the appearance or shape of the moon at a particular time:
    It was the night of the full moon.
    a clear night with a bright moon
    a thin crescent moon
3. [countable] a round object that moves around a planet other than Earth:
    the moons of Saturn
4. ask for the moon (also cry for the moon British English) informal to ask for something that is difficult or impossible to obtain:
    There’s no point in crying for the moon.
5. over the moon British English informal very happy:
    She’s over the moon about her new job.
6. many moons ago literary a long time ago:
    It all happened many moons ago.
⇨ once in a blue moon at once¹(15), ⇨ promise somebody the moon at promise¹(3)
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 2)

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + moon
   ▪ bright The moon was very bright.
   ▪ a full moon (=with a completely round shape) A full moon hung low in the sky.
   ▪ a half moon (=looking like half a circle) A half moon was up now, pale and cool.
   ▪ a crescent moon (=with a thin curved shape) The stars and thin crescent moon gave just enough light to see the path.
   ▪ a new moon (=a very thin moon which is just starting to get bigger) It was twilight and a new moon was rising.
   ▪ a silver/yellow moon It was a frosty night, with a cold silver moon.
   ▪ a pale moon Her face glowed in the light of the pale moon.
   ▪ a harvest moon (=the full moon that appears in late September or early October) Over the potato fields a harvest moon was rising.
■ verbs
   ▪ the moon shines The moon shone through the window.
   ▪ the moon rises (also the moon comes up) He watched the full moon come up over the trees.
   ▪ the moon appears A brilliant moon appeared over the mountains.
   ▪ the moon comes out (=appears as it gets dark or a cloud moves) The moon came out from behind the clouds.
   ▪ the moon hangs somewhere literary (=stays there for a long time) The moon hung over the quiet sea.
   ▪ the moon sets (=goes down so that you cannot see it) The moon had set, but the sky was clear.
   ▪ the moon waxes (=gets bigger each night) The moon waxed larger over the next few days.
   ▪ the moon wanes (=gets smaller each night) The August moon was waning.
■ phrases
   ▪ the light of the moon The clouds blocked out the light of the moon.
   ▪ there is no moon There was no moon, and the fields were completely dark.
     

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

moon² verb [intransitive and transitive]
informal to bend over and show your buttocks as a joke or a way of insulting someone
     
moon about/around phrasal verb
  British English informal to spend your time lazily, moving around with no real purpose:
    I wish you’d stop mooning about and do something useful__
moon over somebody/something phrasal verb
  old-fashioned to spend your time thinking about someone that you are in love with:
    She sits mooning over his photograph for hours.