Definition of 'sun'

Word Frequency

sun

(sʌn )

Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense, plural suns , present participle sunning, past tense, past participle sunned

1. singular noun

The sun is the ball of fire in the sky that the Earth goes round, and that gives us heat and light.

The sun was now high in the southern sky.

The sun came out, briefly.

...the sun's rays.

The sun was shining.

Synonyms: Sol [Roman mythology], Helios [Greek mythology], Phoebus [Greek mythology], daystar [poetic] More Synonyms of sun

2. uncountable noun

You refer to the light and heat that reach us from the sun as the sun.

Dena took them into the courtyard to sit in the sun.

They were trying to soak up some sun.

Synonyms: sunshine, sunlight, daylight, light More Synonyms of sun

3. verb [usually cont]

If you are sunning yourself, you are sitting or lying in a place where the sun is shining on you.

She was last seen sunning herself in a riverside park. [VERB pronoun-reflexive]

4. countable noun

A sun is any star which has planets going around it.

See everythng/anything under the sun

6. a place in the sun

Word Frequency

Sun.

Sun. is a written abbreviation for Sunday.

The Palace is open Mon-Sun.

Video: pronunciation of
sun

sun in British English

(sʌn )

noun

the star at the centre of our solar system. It is a gaseous body having a highly compressed core, in which energy is generated by thermonuclear reactions (at about 15 million kelvins), surrounded by less dense radiative and convective zones serving to transport the energy to the surface (the photosphere). The atmospheric layers (the chromosphere and corona) are normally invisible except during a total eclipse. Mass and diameter: 333 000 and 109 times that of earth respectively; mean distance from earth: 149.6 million km (1 astronomical unit)

▶ Related adjective: solar

any star around which a planetary system revolves

the sun as it appears at a particular time or place

the winter sun

the radiant energy, esp heat and light, received from the sun; sunshine

a person or thing considered as a source of radiant warmth, glory, etc

a pictorial representation of the sun, often depicted with a human face

7. poetic

a year or a day

8. poetic

a climate

9. archaic

sunrise or sunset (esp in the phrase from sun to sun)

10. catch the sun

11. place in the sun

12. shoot the sun

13. touch of the sun

14. under the sun

verbWord forms: suns, sunning or sunned

15.

to expose (oneself) to the sunshine

16. (transitive)

to expose to the sunshine in order to warm, tan, etc

Derived forms

sunlike (ˈsunˌlike)

adjective

Word origin

Old English sunne; related to Old High German sunna, Old Frisian senne, Gothic sunno

Word Frequency

Sun. in British English

abbreviation for

Sunday

Word Frequency

Sun in American English

Sunday

Word Frequency

sun in American English 1

(sʌn )

noun

1. [often S-]

the self-luminous, gaseous central star of the solar system: magnitude, -26; mean distance from the earth, c. 149.6 million km (c. 93 million mi); diameter, c. 1.4 million km (c. 864,000 mi); mass, c. 332,000 times that of the earth; volume, c. 1.3 million times that of the earth; mean density, c. 0.25 times that of the earth; central temperature, c. 15 to 20 million degrees K; surface temperature, c. 6,000°K; rotational period, c. 27 earth days

, with the

the heat or light of the sun

to lie in the sun

any star that is the center of a planetary system

something like the sun, as in warmth or brilliance

verb transitiveWord forms: sunned or ˈsunning

to expose to the sun's rays; warm, dry, bleach, tan, etc. in or as in the sunlight

verb intransitive

to sun oneself

Idioms:

from sun to sun

place in the sun

under the sun

Word origin

ME sunne < OE, akin to Ger sonne, Goth sunnō < IE *sun-, *swen-, var. of base *sāwel- > L sol, Gr hēlios

Word Frequency

sun in American English 2

(sʌn )

noun

an East Indian annual plant ( Crotalaria juncea) of the pea family, grown for its bast fiber used in making rope, bagging, cigarette papers, etc.

its fiber

Also sun hemp

Word origin

Hindi san < Sans śaṇa, hempen

Example sentences including
sun

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It is hard to imagine any writing about sun and surf being quite so dry.You can watch the full video at sun motors.You could slide the roof back to dine under the sun or stars.The sun shines a light on your hidden strengths and inspires you to use them. Walk fully clothed to your sun lounger.The little leaves go and follow the sun across the sky.This means that it may help to protect against sun damage.The sun is high and the flowers are in bloom.Our days begin early to beat the heat of the sun.The sun will warm key relationships at work and home and you can end misunderstandings between friends.