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earth
[urth]
noun
(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.
the inhabitants of this planet, especially the human inhabitants.
The whole earth rejoiced.
this planet as the habitation of humans, often in contrast to heaven and hell.
to create a hell on earth.
the surface of this planet.
to fall to earth.
the solid matter of this planet; dry land; ground.
soil and dirt, as distinguished from rock and sand; the softer part of the land.
the hole of a burrowing animal; lair.
Chemistry.any of several metallic oxides that are difficult to reduce, as alumina, zirconia, and yttria.
Also called earth color.Fine Arts.any of various pigments consisting chiefly of iron oxides and tending toward brown in hue.
Chiefly British Electronics.a ground.
Archaic.a land or country.
verb (used with object)
Chiefly British Electronics.to ground.
earth
/ ɜːθ /
noun
(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: 12756 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
the inhabitants of this planet
the whole earth rejoiced
the dry surface of this planet as distinguished from sea or sky; land; ground
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
worldly or temporal matters as opposed to the concerns of the spirit
the hole in which some species of burrowing animals, esp foxes, live
chem See rare earth alkaline earth
a connection between an electrical circuit or device and the earth, which is at zero potential
US and Canadian equivalent: ground.a terminal to which this connection is made
Also called: earth colour.any of various brown pigments composed chiefly of iron oxides
(modifier) astrology of or relating to a group of three signs of the zodiac, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn Compare air fire water
informalto be very expensive
to return to reality from a fantasy or daydream
used as an intensifier in such phrases as what on earth , who on earth , etc
to hunt (an animal, esp a fox) to its earth and trap it there
to find (someone) after searching
verb
(intr) (of a hunted fox) to go to ground
(tr) to connect (a circuit, device, etc) to earth
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of earth1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of earth1
Idioms and Phrases
run to earth,
Hunting. to chase (an animal) into its hole or burrow.
to run a fox to earth.
to search out; track down.
They ran the fugitive to earth in Algiers.
move heaven and earth. heaven.
on earth, in the world.
Where on earth have you been?
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
"But the Roses were so down to earth, a great friendly band to work with that allowed my band to use their kit when they weren't using it. It was incredible."
George Mills' father Danny described the athlete as "very down to earth"
Later, she drives through a part of the forest that burned the year before to see “mile upon mile of carbonized trees and denuded earth, a now-familiar scene of extinguished life.”
The US has said China has been slow to release exports of rare earth metals and magnets which are essential for manufacturing everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.
Further out, the oil fields of Kern County are like dinosaur relics — scabs on the surface of the earth.
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When To Use
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.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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