extraterrestrial

1 of 2

adjective

ex·​tra·​ter·​res·​tri·​al ˌek-strə-tə-ˈre-strē-əl 

-ˈres-chəl, 

-ˈresh-chəl

: originating, existing, or occurring outside the earth or its atmosphere

extraterrestrial life

extraterrestrial

2 of 2

noun

: a being from another world : an extraterrestrial being

Examples of extraterrestrial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

His latest brings extraterrestrial life into the realm of ’70s conspiracy thrillers. —Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026

Bottlenecked by energy infrastructure from as far back as World War II, tech companies are looking for extraterrestrial arenas to build out data centers without taxing available resources. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 14 May 2026

Noun

Trump started stoking interest in the extraterrestrial in February, directing federal agencies to release their records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs. —ABC News, 3 May 2026

Trump started stoking interest in the extraterrestrial in February, directing federal agencies to release their records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs. —Collin Binkley, Fortune, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1848, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for extraterrestrial

• estriol
• terrestrial

Kids Definition

extraterrestrial

adjective

ex·​tra·​ter·​res·​tri·​al

ˌek-strə-tə-ˈres-trē-əl

: coming from or existing outside the earth or its atmosphere

extraterrestrial life

extraterrestrial noun