moonshot

American  

[moon-shot] / ˈmunˌʃɒt /

Or moon shot

noun

1. the act or procedure of launching a rocket or spacecraft to the moon.

2. a very challenging and innovative project or undertaking.

   Technology companies are investing in moonshots that address the world’s greatest problems.

3. Baseball. a high-velocity home run in which the ball reaches an extraordinary height.

   What could be more exciting than a bases-clearing moonshot over the right field wall in the bottom of the eleventh inning?

---

adjective

1. relating to or noting a very challenging and innovative project or undertaking.

   His department takes moonshot ideas and brings them to reality.

moonshot British  

/ ˈmuːnˌʃɒt /

noun

1. the launching of a spacecraft, rocket, etc, to the moon

---

Etymology

Origin of moonshot

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50 moonshot for def. 1; moon + shot ¹; the baseball sense, also capitalized as Moon shot, was named after Wallace Wade “Wally” Moon (1930–2018), U.S. baseball player, whose home run helped the Dodgers win the 1959 pennant

Example Sentences

It's the first crewed moonshot in more than a half-century.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Wing started in 2012 in Google’s moonshot factory, whose ambitious projects have included self-driving cars, smartglasses and stratospheric balloons to beam internet.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

The eventual Artemis 2 moonshot will send a team of four astronauts on a flyby of Earth's satellite.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

Overall, 11 of the 21 CEOs had forfeited their moonshot awards by early December, including two after a merger and three after the CEO made the transition to chairman or company adviser, Equilar found.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

Bitcoin is the moonshot: It’s 10% of your portfolio, max, and only if you can watch it crater 50% without selling in a panic and buying a Peloton.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 23, 2025