supermoon

noun

su·​per·​moon ˈsü-pər-ˌmün 

plural supermoons

: a full moon occurring when the moon is at or near the closest point in its orbit

A supermoon … occurs when the moon is full within 24 hours of being at its closest point to the Earth in its orbit.

—Kaleigh Rogers

Visible supermoons appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than full moons that occur at the farthest point in the moon's orbit.

—Karen Hao

As the first and only supermoon of 2017 rose high into the sky this Sunday (Dec. 3), astrophotographers seized the opportunity to shoot the moon in all its bigger-than-usual glory.

—Hanneke Weitering

Examples of supermoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That means there are times when the moon is closer to Earth, and when these times occur around a full moon, that's a supermoon. —Space.com Staff, Space.com, 1 Jan. 2025

There will be six supermoons in 2025, including: March 29 April 27 May 26 Oct. 6 Nov. 5 Dec. 4 What is a supermoon? —Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2024

The year's lunar events will wrap on Nov. 5 with a supermoon. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2025

Biggest Supermoon Of 2025 When: November 5, 2025 Get ready for the biggest and brightest supermoon of the year. —Jamie Carter, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supermoon

• afternoon
• forenoon
• honeymoon
• laocoon
• opportune
• pantaloon
• picayune
• tablespoon
• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon