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
: a being from another world : an extraterrestrial being
Examples of extraterrestrial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 31 Mar. 2024
The location could be an ideal place to search for alien life on Mars, said Lee, who is also a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Whoopi Goldberg — The View moderator, intergalactic Star Trek queen, and anti-cactus warrior — has done what the United States government has never dared in its nearly 250 years of existence: confirm that extraterrestrial life has made contact with humanity.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
The Alien saga returns to its extraterrestrial roots with the franchise’s upcoming Alien: Romulus, a standalone installment hitting movie theaters this August.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Production was building what became the backdrop for the show’s pioneering virtual reality game, and Hong was face-to-face with some 300 giant LED screens that were all individually designed to portray the sky of an extraterrestrial planet.
—Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024
While some observers of the monolith chalked it up as an elaborate prank, others found the extraterrestrial angle plausible.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Around Huang’s keynote address, Nvidia executives and researchers will host panels on topics including extraterrestrial intelligence, diffusion models, autonomous vehicles, AI ethics, and cybersecurity.
💊 Robo-meds.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
Instead, the rovers are acting as extraterrestrial detectives, hunting for clues that life may have existed eons ago.
—Amy J. Williams, Discover Magazine, 16 Mar. 2024
Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
According to some scientists' current estimates, humans might contact extraterrestrials in the next decades.
—Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Roger and Katy Payne’s album Songs of the Humpback Whale was considered so important that selections from it were included on a record aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft, to give any extraterrestrials who may find the spacecraft an idea of what life on Earth is like.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Feb. 2024
Hamilton portrays General Eleanor McCallister, a high-ranking military officer who has daddy issues and a long brewing interest in extraterrestrials.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
Whether or not extraterrestrials take notice remains to be seen.
—Eric Lagatta, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
Secret organizations communicate with extraterrestrials, but keep this fact from the public.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
Tasked with working alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to translate what the extraterrestrials — referred to as Heptapods — are after, Louise begins to bond with and understand Earth’s visitors.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024
With the fate of the world resting on Bumblebee's metal shoulders, the transformer and Charlie team up to protect Earth from the Decepticons and Agent Burns (John Cena), the head of a secret agency tasked with helping to protect the planet from hostile extraterrestrials.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024
Adjective
Soon, the identity of Audrey II (voiced by Motown great Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops) is revealed to be that of an extraterrestrial being that craves human blood and wants to take over the world.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 31 Mar. 2024
The location could be an ideal place to search for alien life on Mars, said Lee, who is also a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Whoopi Goldberg — The View moderator, intergalactic Star Trek queen, and anti-cactus warrior — has done what the United States government has never dared in its nearly 250 years of existence: confirm that extraterrestrial life has made contact with humanity.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
The Alien saga returns to its extraterrestrial roots with the franchise’s upcoming Alien: Romulus, a standalone installment hitting movie theaters this August.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2024
Production was building what became the backdrop for the show’s pioneering virtual reality game, and Hong was face-to-face with some 300 giant LED screens that were all individually designed to portray the sky of an extraterrestrial planet.
—Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024
While some observers of the monolith chalked it up as an elaborate prank, others found the extraterrestrial angle plausible.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024
Around Huang’s keynote address, Nvidia executives and researchers will host panels on topics including extraterrestrial intelligence, diffusion models, autonomous vehicles, AI ethics, and cybersecurity.
💊 Robo-meds.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
Instead, the rovers are acting as extraterrestrial detectives, hunting for clues that life may have existed eons ago.
—Amy J. Williams, Discover Magazine, 16 Mar. 2024
Noun
Notably, the report denies that the government has ever encountered anything remotely resembling extraterrestrials.
—Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
According to some scientists' current estimates, humans might contact extraterrestrials in the next decades.
—Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Roger and Katy Payne’s album Songs of the Humpback Whale was considered so important that selections from it were included on a record aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft, to give any extraterrestrials who may find the spacecraft an idea of what life on Earth is like.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Feb. 2024
Hamilton portrays General Eleanor McCallister, a high-ranking military officer who has daddy issues and a long brewing interest in extraterrestrials.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
Whether or not extraterrestrials take notice remains to be seen.
—Eric Lagatta, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
Secret organizations communicate with extraterrestrials, but keep this fact from the public.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
Tasked with working alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to translate what the extraterrestrials — referred to as Heptapods — are after, Louise begins to bond with and understand Earth’s visitors.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024
With the fate of the world resting on Bumblebee's metal shoulders, the transformer and Charlie team up to protect Earth from the Decepticons and Agent Burns (John Cena), the head of a secret agency tasked with helping to protect the planet from hostile extraterrestrials.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'extraterrestrial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near extraterrestrial
Cite this Entry
“Extraterrestrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extraterrestrial. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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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
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