Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense, plural suns, present participle sunning, past tense, past participle sunned
1. singular noun
Thesun 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 thesun.
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.
5.
See everythng/anything under the sun
6. a place in the sun
Sun.
Sun. is a written abbreviation for Sunday.
The Palace is open Mon-Sun.
sun in British English
(sʌn)
noun
1.
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
2.
any star around which a planetary system revolves
3.
the sun as it appears at a particular time or place
the winter sun
4.
the radiant energy, esp heat and light, received from the sun; sunshine
5.
a person or thing considered as a source of radiant warmth, glory, etc
6.
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
Sun. in British English
abbreviation for
Sunday
Sunday in British English
(ˈsʌndɪ, -deɪ)
noun
the first day of the week and the Christian day of worship
Sun in American English
Sunday
sun in American English1
(sʌn)
noun
1. [oftenS-]
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
2.
the heat or light of the sun
to lie in the sun
3.
any star that is the center of a planetary system
4.
something like the sun, as in warmth or brilliance
verb transitiveWord forms: sunned or ˈsunning
5.
to expose to the sun's rays; warm, dry, bleach, tan, etc. in or as in the sunlight
verb intransitive
6.
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
sun in American English2
(sʌn)
noun
1.
an East Indian annual plant (Crotalaria juncea) of the pea family, grown for its bast fiber used in making rope, bagging, cigarette papers, etc.
2.
its fiber
Also sun hemp
Word origin
Hindi san < Sans śaṇa, hempen
More idioms containing
sun
make hay while the sun shines
a place in the sun
Examples of 'sun' in a sentence
sun
It is hard to imagine any writing about sun and surf being quite so dry.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
You can watch the full video at sun motors.
The Sun (2015)
You could slide the roof back to dine under the sun or stars.
The Sun (2012)
The sun shines a light on your hidden strengths and inspires you to use them.
The Sun (2012)
Walk fully clothed to your sun lounger.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The little leaves go and follow the sun across the sky.
Christianity Today (2000)
This means that it may help to protect against sun damage.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The sun is high and the flowers are in bloom.
The Sun (2015)
Our days begin early to beat the heat of the sun.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The sun will warm key relationships at work and home and you can end misunderstandings between friends.
The Sun (2012)
Jamaica is trying hard to position itself as the new place in the sun.
The Sun (2008)
When the sun goes down the creatures come out.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The sun provides the earth with more energy in an hour than humanity uses in a year.
Oliver Morton Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet (2007)
Top up your tan on the sun deck or have a dip in one of the pools.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Your first appearance on the beach or sun lounger is crucial.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We simply cannot afford to compete with countries where there is sun all year round.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
She had also packed four litres of sun cream.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Plant in full sun or partial shade.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The stars displace the sun without a sound.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
The sun shines a light on something in your home with an unexpected value.
The Sun (2013)
Good intentions turn into action now the sun inspires you to make a commitment to a fitness plan.
The Sun (2012)
Solar eclipses occur when the moon lines up between the Earth and the sun.
The Sun (2011)
Perhaps she was waiting to feel the heat of the sun's rays against her cheeks.
Zindell, David The Broken God (1993)
Offshore targets Is the sun about to set on tax havens?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It captures the sun's energy and converts it into an electrical current that can power lights or small appliances.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
sun
British English: sun /sʌn/ 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 low in the sky.
American English: sun
Arabic: شَمْس
Brazilian Portuguese: sol
Chinese: 太阳
Croatian: sunce
Czech: slunce
Danish: sol
Dutch: zon
European Spanish: sol
Finnish: aurinko
French: soleil
German: Sonne
Greek: ήλιος
Italian: sole
Japanese: 太陽
Korean: 태양
Norwegian: sol
Polish: słońce
European Portuguese: sol
Romanian: soare
Russian: солнце
Latin American Spanish: sol
Swedish: sol
Thai: พระอาทิตย์
Turkish: güneş
Ukrainian: сонце
Vietnamese: mặt trời
1 (noun)
Definition
the star that is the source of heat and light for the planets in the solar system
The sun was now high in the southern sky.
Synonyms
Sol (Roman mythology)
Helios (Greek mythology)
Phoebus (Greek mythology)
daystar (poetic)
eye of heaven
Phoebus Apollo (Greek mythology)
2 (noun)
Definition
the heat and light received from the sun
They were trying to soak up the sun.
Synonyms
sunshine
sunlight
I saw her sitting at a window table, bathed in sunlight.
daylight
In the middle of winter there's hardly any daylight.
light
Three hours before first light, he gave orders for the evacuation of the camp.
rays
warmth
phrasal verb
See sun yourself
related words
related adjectivesolar
related maniaheliomania
Additional synonyms
in the sense of daylight
Definition
light from the sun
In the middle of winter there's hardly any daylight.
Synonyms
sunlight,
sunshine,
light of day,
natural light
in the sense of light
Definition
daybreak
Three hours before first light, he gave orders for the evacuation of the camp.
Synonyms
daybreak,
morning,
dawn,
sun,
sunrise,
sunshine,
sunlight,
daylight,
daytime,
sunbeam,
morn (poetic),
cockcrow,
broad day
in the sense of sunlight
Definition
the light that comes from the sun
I saw her sitting at a window table, bathed in sunlight.