earth

[urth]

noun

1. (often initial capital letter),  the planet third in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 7,926 miles (12,755 km) and a polar diameter of 7,900 miles (12,714 km), a mean distance from the sun of 92.9 million miles (149.6 million km), and a period of revolution of 365.26 days, and having one satellite.

2. the inhabitants of this planet, especially the human inhabitants.

   The whole earth rejoiced.

3. this planet as the habitation of humans, often in contrast to heaven and hell.

   to create a hell on earth.

4. the surface of this planet.

   to fall to earth.

5. the solid matter of this planet; dry land; ground.

6. soil and dirt, as distinguished from rock and sand; the softer part of the land.

7. the hole of a burrowing animal; lair.

8. Chemistry.,  any of several metallic oxides that are difficult to reduce, as alumina, zirconia, and yttria.

9. Also called earth color. Fine Arts.,  any of various pigments consisting chiefly of iron oxides and tending toward brown in hue.

10. Chiefly British Electronics.,  a ground.

11. Archaic.,  a land or country.

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly British Electronics.,  to ground.

earth

/ ɜːθ /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the third planet from the sun, the only planet on which life is known to exist. It is not quite spherical, being flattened at the poles, and consists of three geological zones, the core, mantle, and thin outer crust. The surface, covered with large areas of water, is enveloped by an atmosphere principally of nitrogen (78 per cent), oxygen (21 per cent), and some water vapour. The age is estimated at over four thousand million years. Distance from sun: 149.6 million km; equatorial diameter: 12 756 km; mass: 5.976 × 10 ²⁴ kg; sidereal period of axial rotation: 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds; sidereal period of revolution about sun: 365.256 days

2. the inhabitants of this planet

   the whole earth rejoiced

3. the dry surface of this planet as distinguished from sea or sky; land; ground

4. the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the surface of the ground and consists of disintegrated rock particles, mould, clay, etc; soil

5. worldly or temporal matters as opposed to the concerns of the spirit

6. the hole in which some species of burrowing animals, esp foxes, live

7. chem See rare earth alkaline earth

8. 1. a connection between an electrical circuit or device and the earth, which is at zero potential

   2. US and Canadian equivalent: ground. a terminal to which this connection is made

9. Also called: earth colour. any of various brown pigments composed chiefly of iron oxides

10. (modifier) astrology of or relating to a group of three signs of the zodiac, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn Compare air fire water

11. informal,  to be very expensive

12. to return to reality from a fantasy or daydream

13. used as an intensifier in such phrases as what on earth , who on earth , etc

14. 1. to hunt (an animal, esp a fox) to its earth and trap it there

    2. to find (someone) after searching

verb

1. (intr) (of a hunted fox) to go to ground

2. (tr) to connect (a circuit, device, etc) to earth

Earth

1. The planet on which we live — the third planet from the sun.

It consists of an inner core made of iron and nickel, an outer core of liquid metal, a mantle, and, on the outside, a crust.

On the Earth's surface, the oceans and the continents form the stage on which the evolution of life takes place. The atmosphere above the surface circulates, producing the daily weather.

The Earth was formed at the same time as the sun, about 4.6 billion years ago.

The surface of the solid Earth is in a state of constant change as the rock is moved around by the processes of plate tectonics.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Earth¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English erthe, Old English eorthe; cognate with German Erde, Dutch aarde, Old Norse jǫrth, Danish jord, Gothic airtha

Word History and Origins

Origin of Earth¹

Old English eorthe; related to Old Norse jorth, Old High German ertha, Gothic airtha, Greek erā

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. run to earth,

   1. Hunting. to chase (an animal) into its hole or burrow.

      to run a fox to earth.

   2. to search out; track down.

      They ran the fugitive to earth in Algiers.

2. move heaven and earth. heaven.

3. on earth, in the world.

   Where on earth have you been?

see down to earth; ends of the earth; four corners of the earth; move heaven and earth; not have an earthly chance; on earth; run to earth; salt of the earth.

Synonym Study

Earth, globe, world are terms applied to the planet on which we dwell. Earth is used especially in speaking of a condition of existence contrasted with that in heaven or hell: those who are yet on earth. Globe formerly emphasized merely the roundness of the earth: to circumnavigate the globe. It is now used more like world, with especial application to the inhabitants of the earth and their activities, interests, and concerns. In this sense, both globe and world are more inclusive than earth and are used more abstractly: the politics of the globe; the future of the world; One World.

Example Sentences

He told the court: "I felt he was able to get away with a lot of his activities because he was almost like a Twitter avatar floating around with no real connection to the earth."

From BBC

The Northern Lights are caused by solar winds carrying charged particles interacting with the earth's magnetic field.

From BBC

That the earth is 6,000 years old and evolution is a hoax, that the 2020 election was stolen and Ukraine attacked Russia?

From Salon

It was one of Amorim's more rational statements in a week when he seemed to be adopting a scorched earth policy such is the rollercoaster his emotional state has been.

From BBC

They care about eliminating one of the biggest teams on earth in a genuinely sensational cup tie.

From BBC

Related Words

• clay 
• coast 
• dirt 
• dust 
• gravel 
• land 
• mud 
• sand 
• shore 
• surface 
• terrain 
• turf 

When To Use

What does earth mean?

Earth with a capital E refers to the third planet from our sun, as in Mars fascinates me, but Earth will always be my home.Lowercased, earth most often refers to the surface material of our planet, including rock, soil, and dirt, as in The bulldozer moved so much earth out of the building lot that if I jumped in the hole, I couldn’t get out again.Earth can also refer to the entire human population, representing the Earth as a planet of people, rather than a giant rock floating in space, as in The whole earth was worried about COVID-19.Example: Earth revolves around the sun about every 365 days.