English▸ noun
1 (also Earth) the planet on which we live; the world:
the diversity of life on earth.
▪ the surface of the world as distinct from the sky or the sea:
it plummeted back to earth at 60 mph.
▪ the present abode of humankind, as distinct from heaven or hell:
God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The earth is the third planet from the sun in the solar system, orbiting between Venus and Mars at an average distance of 90 million miles (149.6 million km) from the sun, and has one natural satellite, the moon. It has an equatorial diameter of 7,654 miles (12,756 km), an average density 5.5 times that of water, and is believed to have formed about 4,600 million years ago. The earth, which is three-quarters covered by oceans and has a dense atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen, is the only planet known to support life.
2 the substance of the land surface; soil:
a layer of earth.
▪ one of the four elements in ancient and medieval philosophy and in astrology (considered essential to certain signs of the zodiac):
[as modifier] an earth sign.
▪ used in names of stable, dense, nonvolatile inorganic substances, e.g. fuller's earth:
these crayons are made with a mixture of native earths plus softeners such as China clay.
▪ literary the substance of the human body:
we now commit his body to the ground: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
3 British electrical connection to the earth, regarded as having zero electrical potential; ground:
ensure metal fittings are electrically bonded to earth.
▸ verb [with object]
– PHRASES
come back down to earth (also come back to earth)
return to reality after a period of daydreaming or excitement:
cause someone to return to reality after a period of daydreaming or excitement:
used to refer to the experience of having an orgasm:
(of a hunted animal) hide in an underground burrow:
very strange:
used for emphasis:
come back down to earth (also come back to earth)
return to reality after a period of daydreaming or excitement:
I came back down to earth pretty quickly when I realized that it's going to cost thousands of dollars.
bring someone back down to earth (also bring someone back to earth) cause someone to return to reality after a period of daydreaming or excitement:
he brought me back down to earth by instructing me to concentrate on the game.
the earth moves humorous or euphemistic used to refer to the experience of having an orgasm:
did the earth move for you last night?
how wonderful it is when a couple can say that the earth moved for them both.
[1940s : first attested in For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.]
go to earth (of a hunted animal) hide in an underground burrow:
the fox would go to earth and stay there till dark.
▪ go into hiding:
like nothing on earth informal he'd gone to earth after that meeting.
very strange:
they looked like nothing on earth.
on earth used for emphasis:
who on earth would venture out in weather like this?
– ORIGIN Old English eorthe, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch aarde and German Erde.