moonshine
moon·shine/ˈmuːnʃaɪn/noun, verb
moonshine is spelled M-O-O-N-S-H-I-N-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (moon·shine). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, moonshine means “The light of the moon” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of moonshine is moonshines.
How many letters and syllables are in moonshine?
| Letters | 9: M-O-O-N-S-H-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: moon·shine |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is moonshine?
Moonshine appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce moonshine?
- /ˈmuːnʃaɪn/
Moonshine has 2 syllables, split moon·shine in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-moonshine.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with moonshine
Also written: moon-shine (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of moonshine
- moonshines plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- moon-shine
- moonshining participle, present
- moonshined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moonshine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The light of the moon.
[…] O Nymph more bright than moon-ſhine night, like Kidlings blithe and merry […]
- 2
The light reflected off Earth's Moon.
- 3
The light reflected off a moon.
- 4
informalHigh-proof alcohol (especially whiskey) that is often, but not always, produced illegally.
They watered down the moonshine.
- 5
UKarchaicSmuggled spirits, often with a specific sense; (Kent, Sussex) white brandy; (Yorkshire) gin.
- 6
informalNonsense.
He was talking moonshine.
- 7
A branch of pure mathematics relating the Monster group to an invariant of elliptic functions.
- 8
USA spiced dish of eggs and fried onions.
verb
- 1
To make homemade (especially, illicit) alcohol, especially distilled spirits.
His grandfather started to moonshine when things got really bad in 1933; when he got caught moonshining, he did a bit of time.
- 2
To make (an ingredient) into such a drink.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moonshine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense illicit liquor:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | alcool de contrebande |
| German | schwarzgebrannter Schnaps, Selbstgebrannter, Schwarzbrennerei |
| Portuguese | moonshine |
| Spanish | alcohol ilegal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does moonshine come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).