moonwalk
moonwalk Lexical Profile
moonwalk Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A pop dance step in which the dancer glides smoothly backward while creating the visual illusion of walking forward.
"The dancer's effortless moonwalk across the stage drew loud applause from the audience."
An excursion on the surface of the moon on foot by an astronaut.
"Millions of viewers around the world watched the historic televised broadcast of the first moonwalk in 1969."
American A large, enclosed inflatable structure on which children can jump and play.
"They rented a colorful moonwalk for the neighborhood block party so the kids could bounce all afternoon."
• verb
To perform a dance move in which one glides backward while appearing to make forward walking motions.
"He tried to moonwalk across the kitchen floor in his socks."
To walk on the surface of the moon.
"Only twelve astronauts have ever had the opportunity to moonwalk during lunar missions."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 1960s during the Apollo space program to describe an astronaut walking on the lunar surface; the dance sense was popularized globally in 1983 by singer Michael Jackson, adapting an earlier street-dance illusion known as the backslide.