What does "sun" mean?
A star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system.
Sun
/sʌn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system.
- Grammar: sun is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: sunlight, abundant year, academic year, air-dry.
- Useful contrasts: cover, darkness, eira.
- Usage evidence: By the time you got there, the sun had set.
How to use "sun"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sun" 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 "sun" 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 "sun" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sun" 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 "sun" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "sunlight" 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 "sun", 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 A star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system. countable, uncountable
"Because Haestrom's sun has overwhelmed the planet's protective magnetosphere, humans foolhardy enough to venture into geth-controlled Haestrom must exercise extreme caution. Minutes of radiation exposure will overload shields and hours of exposure will kill."
- 2 A traditional Japanese unit of length, approximately 30.3 millimetres (1.193 inches).
- 3 Alternative form of sunn (“the plant”). alt-of, alternative, uncountable
- 4 Abbreviation of Sunday. abbreviation, alt-of
- 5 any star around which a planetary system revolves wordnet
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 The light and heat which are received from the sun; sunshine or sunlight. countable, uncountable
"Lambs that did frisk in the sun."
- 7 a person considered as a source of warmth or energy or glory etc wordnet
- 8 Something like the sun in brightness or splendor. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"For the Lord God is the ſunne & ſhield vnto vs: […]"
- 9 the rays of the sun wordnet
- 10 Sunrise or sunset. literary, uncountable
"Imo[gen].[…]Prythee ſpeake, / How many ſtore of Miles may we well rid / Twixt houre, and houre? / Piſ[anio]. One ſcore 'twixt Sun, and Sun, / Madam's enough for you: and too much too. / Imo[gen]. Why, one that rode to's Excution Man, / Could neuer go ſo ſlow: […]"
- 11 first day of the week; observed as a day of rest and worship by most Christians wordnet
- 12 A revolution of the Earth around the Sun; a year. countable, uncountable
- 13 A transversing of the sky by the Sun; a day. countable, uncountable
"Four suns since was the word brought to me from ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed,’ ‘White men come; if white men come, slay them not.’ Let them be brought to the house of ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed.’"
- 14 The nineteenth trump/major arcana card of the tarot. countable, uncountable
- 15 The thirty-first Lenormand card. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To expose to the heat and radiation of the sun. transitive
"Beautiful bodies lying on the beach, sunning their bronzed limbs."
- 2 expose one's body to the sun wordnet
- 3 To warm or dry in the sunshine. transitive
- 4 expose to the rays of the sun or affect by exposure to the sun wordnet
- 5 To be exposed to the sun. intransitive
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To expose the eyes to the sun as part of the Bates method. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 The star that is closest to the Earth.
"And the cite hath no nede of the ſunne nether of the mone to lyghten hit. For the bꝛynghtnes off God dyd light hitt: and the lambe was the light off hit."
- 2 The star at the center of the Solar System (our solar system), which shines in our sky, represented in astronomy and astrology by ☉.
- 3 A surname.
- 4 The station code of Sunny Bay in Hong Kong.
- 5 The 91st sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
Show 1 more definition
- 6 An English tabloid newspaper.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"By the time you got there, the sun had set."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sun"?
Common synonyms include: sunlight, abundant year, academic year, air-dry, amen-ra, anhydrate.
How do you use "sun" in a sentence?
By the time you got there, the sun had set.
How do you pronounce "sun"?
Pronounced /sʌn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sonne, sunne, from Old English sunne, from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wen-, oblique of Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun”). See also Saterland Frisian Sunne, West Frisian sinne, German Low German Sünn, Dutch zon, German Sonne, Icelandic sunna; outside of Germanic, Welsh huan, Sanskrit स्वर् (svàr), Avestan 𐬓𐬇𐬧𐬔 (xᵛə̄ṇg)). Related to sol, Sol, Surya, and Helios. More at solar.
Etymology 2
From Japanese 寸 (sun). Doublet of cun.
Etymology 3
From Middle English sunne, from Old English sunna, sunne (“sun; the Sun”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from the heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wén-, oblique form of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun; the Sun”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sunne, West Frisian sinne, Dutch zon, Old Dutch sunna, German Low German Sünn, Old Saxon sunna, German Sonne, Old High German sunna, Faroese sunna, Icelandic sunna, Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 (sunnō). More at sun.
Etymology 4
From Mandarin 孫／孙 (Sūn), Wade-Giles romanization: Sun¹.