earth

earth [ʉrth]

n.

[ME erthe < OE eorthe, akin to Ger erde < IE base * er- > Gr era, earth, Welsh erw, field]

1. [often E-] the planet that we live on; terrestrial globe: it is the fifth largest planet of the solar system and the third in distance from the sun: diameter, c. 12,760 km ( c. 7,930 mi); period of revolution, one earth year; period of rotation, 24 hours; one satellite; symbol, ♁: often with the

2. this world, as distinguished from heaven and hell

3. all the people on the earth

4. land, as distinguished from sea or sky; the ground

5. the soft, granular or crumbly part of land; soil; ground

6. Old Poet.

a) the substance of the human body

b) the human body

c) the concerns, interests, etc. of human life; worldly matters

7. the hole of a burrowing animal; lair

8. Obs. a land or country

9. Chem. any of the metallic oxides, formerly classed as elements, which are reduced with difficulty to an alkaline-earth metal, rare-earth element, or certain other metals

10. Elec. [Brit.] Elec. Brit. GROUND¹

vt.

1. to cover (up) with soil for protection, as seeds or plants

2. to chase (an animal) into a hole or burrow

vi.

to hide in a burrow: said of a fox, etc.

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come back to earth or come down to earth

to stop being impractical; return to reality

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down to earth

1. practical; realistic

2. sincere; without affectation

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go to earth

Chiefly Brit. to go into hiding

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on earth

of all things: an intensive used mainly after interrogative pronouns [what on earth do you mean?]

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run to earth [< use in fox hunting]

1. to hunt down

2. to find by search

SYN.- EARTH is applied to the globe or planet we live on, but in religious use is opposed to heaven or hell; UNIVERSE refers to the whole system of planets, stars, space, etc. and to everything that exists in it; WORLD is equivalent to EARTH, esp. as relates to human activities, but is sometimes a generalized synonym for UNIVERSE