What does moonshine mean?
Moonshine most commonly denotes an illicit distilled alcoholic liquor, particularly in American English, and carries associations with clandestine production, bootlegging, and evasion of liquor laws. It can also refer poetically to moonlight, as in phrases that evoke a nocturnal landscape illuminated by the moon. This older meaning helped give the modern term its vivid image of something hidden, produced outside official channels, and associated with the night. The word is also used informally as a verb meaning to talk or converse, although that sense is now uncommon in formal writing. Its history lies in the combination of “moon” and “shine”: the compound originally referred to moonlight before adopting its specialized American sense for illegal liquor. Moonshine therefore works both as a concrete name for untaxed or illicit spirits and as a literary term for the silvery light of the moon.
Illicitly distilled alcoholic liquor, especially in the United States; also, poetically, moonlight or a moonlike glow.
"The authorities raided the property and discovered several containers of moonshine."
The liquor sense is chiefly American and often informal. “Moonshine” generally denotes a category of illicit spirit rather than a specific legal style of whiskey.
To talk or converse, especially informally and at length.
"The two neighbors moonshined until midnight."
This sense is informal and is much less common in formal contemporary English.
The plural is rare; the meanings “illicit liquor” and “moonlight” are normally uncountable.
"They traded rumors and moonshines over coffee."
Before it became a name for illicit liquor, moonshine simply meant moonlight—a reminder that an ordinary poetic label can acquire a criminal reputation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does moonshine come from?
Moonshine is a compound of “moon” and “shine,” with the two words referring jointly to the moon's light. It appeared in English with the meaning “moonlight” before the specialized American sense for illicitly distilled liquor emerged. The alcohol sense is particularly associated with the United States, where clandestine distilling flourished during periods of prohibition and heavy taxation. Its later vocabulary belongs to the same broad moon-related family as Latin-derived words such as “lunar” and “lunatic.”
Related word forms
How moonshine is actually used
The informal sense is strongly associated with American prohibition-era and rural bootlegging culture. The sense meaning moonlight is literary, poetic, or archaic in tone. As a verb, the word is informal and means to talk or converse, often at length.
Easily confused with moonshine
Moonlight is the natural light of the moon, whereas moonshine most commonly refers to illicitly made alcohol.
Whiskey is the distilled spirit itself and may be lawfully produced and sold, while moonshine specifically denotes illicitly produced liquor.