Meaning & use
came down to earth
Last updated
“came down to earth” is a form of “come down to earth”.
Meaning
phraseidiomfigurative
Stopped dreaming or being overly excited and started to see things as they really are.
Grammar: Intransitive idiom with no object; the tense changes: come, came, has come down to earth.
Patterns
- come down to earth
- bring someone down to earth
After the holiday, he came down to earth when the bills arrived.
She came down to earth with a bump after her first week as manager.
The team finally came down to earth after the lucky win.
Word forms
| present | come down to earth |
|---|---|
| third person singular | comes down to earth |
| -ing form | coming down to earth |
Common combinations
- come down to earth with a bump
- He came down to earth with a bump after the lottery dream.
- bring someone down to earth
- Her sister's honest comment brought her down to earth.
- finally came down to earth
- The sales team finally came down to earth.
- need to come down to earth
- You need to come down to earth and look at the budget.
Synonyms and how they differ
- get real
- Get real is blunter and more informal, and is usually an order to someone else.
- face reality
- Face reality is more serious and neutral, while come down to earth often follows a happy, unrealistic daydream.
- snap out of it
- Snap out of it stresses a sudden stop to a mood, not necessarily a return to realism.
Opposites
Word family
- down-to-earth adjective
- practical and sensible
- earthly adjective
- relating to the world, not heaven
Commonly confused: came down to earth or down-to-earth?
came down to earth vs down-to-earth
This hyphenated adjective describes a person who is practical, whereas came down to earth describes a moment of becoming realistic.
Practice
After months of fantasy about winning, he finally ___ when he saw his empty bank account.
Choose one answer.
Came down to earth means returned to reality. The other phrases have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “came down to earth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.