Library / English Dictionary

MOONSHINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Whiskey illegally distilled from a corn mash

Synonyms:

bootleg; corn liquor; moonshine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("moonshine" is a kind of...):

corn; corn whiskey; corn whisky (whiskey distilled from a mash of not less than 80 percent corn)

Derivation:

moonshine (distill (alcohol) illegally; produce moonshine)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The light of the Moon

Example:

the Moon was bright enough to read by

Synonyms:

Moon; moonlight; moonshine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("moonshine" is a kind of...):

light; visible light; visible radiation ((physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation)

Meronyms (parts of "moonshine"):

moon-ray; moon ray; moonbeam (a ray of moonlight)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Distill (alcohol) illegally; produce moonshine

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "moonshine" is one way to...):

distil; distill; extract (extract by the process of distillation)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

moonshine (whiskey illegally distilled from a corn mash)

moonshiner (someone who makes or sells illegal liquor)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Beneath them on every side stretched the long sweep of peaceful country, rolling plain, and tangled wood, all softened and mellowed in the silver moonshine.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)