What does "moonshine" mean?
The light of the moon.
Moonshine
/ˈmuːnʃaɪn/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The light of the moon.
- Grammar: moonshine is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: moonlight, alcohol, argument, argument by analogy.
- Useful contrasts: credible claim, darkness, legal alcohol.
- Usage evidence: That old man had been making moonshine for fifty years.
How to use "moonshine"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "moonshine" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "moonshine" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "moonshine" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "moonshine" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "moonshine" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "moonlight" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "moonshine", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The light of the moon. countable, literally, uncountable
"[…] her Waggon Spokes made of long Spinners legs: the Couer of the wings of Graſhoppers, her Traces of the ſmalleſt Spiders web, her coullers of the Moonſhines watry Beames […]"
- 2 whiskey illegally distilled from a corn mash wordnet
- 3 High-proof alcohol (especially whiskey) that is often, but not always, produced illegally. countable, informal, uncountable
"They watered down the moonshine."
- 4 the light of the Moon wordnet
- 5 Smuggled spirits, often with a specific sense; (Kent, Sussex) white brandy; (Yorkshire) gin. UK, archaic, countable, dialectal, uncountable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Nonsense. informal, uncountable
"He was talking moonshine."
- 7 A branch of pure mathematics relating the Monster group to an invariant of elliptic functions. uncountable
- 8 A spiced dish of eggs and fried onions. US, countable, uncountable
- 9 A month. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[…] wherefore ſhould I / Stand in the plague of cuſtome, and permit / The curioſity of Nations to depriue me? / For that I am ſome twelue, or fourteene Moonſhines / Lag of a brother?"
Verb
- 1 To make homemade (especially, illicit) alcohol, especially distilled spirits. intransitive
"His grandfather started to moonshine when things got really bad in 1933; when he got caught moonshining, he did a bit of time."
- 2 distill (alcohol) illegally; produce moonshine wordnet
- 3 To make (an ingredient) into such a drink. transitive
"A more practical critic notes that paleolithic man had a very sweet tooth, which he sated with honey. Worse, he moonshined the honey into metheglin, an alcoholic brew. Booze and junk food, in other words, are hardly modern inventions."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"That old man had been making moonshine for fifty years."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "moonshine"?
Common synonyms include: moonlight, alcohol, argument, argument by analogy, argumentum ad baculum, argumentum ad captandum.
How do you use "moonshine" in a sentence?
That old man had been making moonshine for fifty years.
How do you pronounce "moonshine"?
Pronounced /ˈmuːnʃaɪn/.
Etymology
From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner.