A crescent is a curved shape that looks like a thin slice of moon, thick in the middle and tapering to points at each end. You see this shape in the night sky when the moon is partly lit by the sun, showing just a slim arc of light. The moon appears as a crescent a few days after the new moon and again a few days before the next new moon.

When you see a crescent moon in the early evening, it's growing larger each night toward becoming a full moon. Ancient people paid close attention to the moon's phases because they used them to track time and seasons.

You'll find crescent shapes in many places beyond the night sky. Croissants get their name from their crescent shape. The symbol appears on many flags, including Turkey's flag. When you cut a watermelon or cantaloupe into slices, you create crescents. If you fold a piece of paper or fabric into a curve with two pointed ends, you've made a crescent shape.

The shape can also describe anything that curves like the moon: a crescent of sandy beach along a bay, or a crescent of spectators gathering around a street performer.