sunscreen

English

This mother is applying sunscreen to her child's face to prevent sunburn.
This photograph makes the ultraviolet spectrum visible; it shows how sunscreen performs.

Etymology

From sun +‎ screen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsʌn.skɹiːn/
    • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

sunscreen (countable and uncountable, plural sunscreens)

  2. A topical substance formulated to protect the skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation by absorbing, reflecting or scattering ultraviolet rays.
    Synonyms: sunblock, suntan lotion (one sense)
    Hyponyms: sunblock, sunblocker
    Coordinate term: suntan lotion (another sense)
    • 2009, Elisabeth Hyde, In the Heart of the Canyon, page 55:
      Jill had Mark apply sunscreen to her back.
      "Bet these river guides get a lot of skin cancer", he said. He had a slappy, unpleasant way of doing it, and she struggled to keep her balance.
    • 2023 July 15, Dana G. Smith, “Why Sunscreen Is the Only Anti-Aging Product You Need”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 September 2025:
      Chemical ingredients — such as avobenzone, oxybenzone and homosalate — absorb the UV rays. Both types of sunscreen can degrade or wash off over time, so it’s important to reapply every two hours, and more frequently if you’re swimming or sweating.
    • 2023 December 6, Jessica DeFino, “Too Many Products Can Stress Out Your Skin. Here’s How to Scale Back.”, in The New York Times‎[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 July 2025:
      As for daytime sun protection, Dr. Bowe said mineral sunscreens made with zinc oxide may be gentler on sensitized skin than chemical formulas.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

sunscreen (third-person singular simple present sunscreens, present participle sunscreening, simple past and past participle sunscreened)

  1. (transitive) To apply sunscreen to (someone).
    • 2007, Nicole Williams, Tortured:
      He glanced over his shoulder as I sunscreened his back.

Anagrams

This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.