Meaning & use
earth
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Meanings
nounsingular
The planet we live on, third from the sun, or the world as the place where people live.
Grammar: Usually the Earth or Earth with a capital letter when named as a planet; no plural.
Patterns
- on Earth
- the Earth's something
Earth takes about 365 days to orbit the sun.
Astronauts looked back at the Earth from the moon.
It was the happiest place on earth for the children.
noununcountable
The soil or loose dirt on the ground in which plants grow.
Grammar: Lowercase and uncountable: a pile of earth, not an earth.
Patterns
- a handful of earth
- dig the earth
She pressed the earth firmly around the seedling.
The workers shoveled the earth into a wheelbarrow.
After the rain the earth smelled fresh.
nouncountableBritishtechnical
A wire connection that links an electrical device to the ground to make it safe.
Grammar: British usage; American English says ground.
Patterns
- connect the earth wire
- an earth connection
The electrician checked that the plug had a good earth.
The green and yellow wire is the earth.
A missing earth can make an appliance dangerous.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Used after question words, such as what or why, to show strong surprise or annoyance.
Grammar: Fits after a question word: What on earth happened?
Patterns
- what on earth
- why on earth
- how on earth
Why on earth did you leave the window open?
What on earth are you wearing?
How on earth did he get here so fast?
Word forms
| plural | earths |
|---|
Common combinations
- planet Earth
- Planet Earth is home to millions of species.
- down to earth
- He is smart but very down to earth.
- scorched earth
- The retreating army used a scorched earth policy.
- rich earth
- The farmer prized the rich earth by the river.
- what on earth
- What on earth is that noise?
Synonyms and how they differ
- world
- World is broader and can include people and societies, while Earth names the physical planet.
- globe
- Globe stresses the round shape of the planet, often in phrases about travel or business.
- soil
- Soil is the scientific word for the surface layer plants grow in; earth is more general and everyday.
- dirt
- Dirt can sound unclean or unwanted, while earth sounds more natural and neutral.
Opposites
Word family
- earthly adjective
- relating to the physical world rather than to spirits or heaven
- earthy adjective
- like soil, or direct and unrefined
- earthquake noun
- a sudden shaking of the ground
- unearth verb
- to dig up or discover something hidden
- earthworm noun
- a worm that lives in soil
Commonly confused: earth or world?
earth vs world
World covers all people and human life, whereas Earth is the planet itself. We say the world economy but Earth's atmosphere.
Practice
Why ___ would anyone leave a cake in the oven for three hours?
Choose one answer.
On earth is the fixed phrase that adds emphasis after a question word. The other prepositions do not form this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “earth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.