sun

noun

• 1 (the sun or the Sun) the star around which the earth orbits.
• any star in the universe similar to the sun, with or without planets.

The sun is the central body of the solar system. It provides the light and energy that sustains life on earth, and its position relative to the earth’s axis determines the terrestrial seasons. The sun is a star of a type known as a G2 dwarf, a sphere of hydrogen and helium 870,000 miles (1.4 million km) in diameter that obtains its energy from nuclear fusion reactions in its interior, where the temperature is about 15 million°C. The surface is a little under 6,000°C

• 2 (usually the sun) the light or warmth received from the earth’s sun:we sat outside in the sun
• literary a person or thing regarded as a source of glory or inspiration or understanding:the rhetoric faded before the sun of reality
• literary used with reference to someone’s success or prosperity:the sun of the Plantagenets went down in clouds

• 3 literary a day or a year:after going so many suns without food, I was sleeping

verb (suns, sunning, sunned)

• sit or lie in the sun:Buzz could see Clare sunning herself on the terrace below
• [with object] expose (something) to the sun, especially to warm or dry it:the birds are sunning their wings