terrestrial

adjective ter·res·tri·al \ tə-ˈre-st(r)ē-əl ; -ˈres-chəl , -ˈresh- \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: terrestrial in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of terrestrial

1 a : of or relating to the earth or its inhabitants

terrestrial magnetism

b : mundane in scope or character : prosaic

2 a : of or relating to land as distinct from air or water

terrestrial transportation

b (1) : living on or in or growing from land

terrestrial plants

terrestrial birds

(2) : of or relating to terrestrial organisms

terrestrial habits

3 : belonging to the class of planets that are like the earth (as in density and silicate composition)

the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars

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terrestrial

noun

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terrestrially

adverb

See terrestrial defined for English-language learners

See terrestrial defined for kids

terrestrial was our Word of the Day on 05/17/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of terrestrial in a Sentence

The toad has terrestrial habits, spending most of its time on shore.
scientists haven't even found all the terrestrial life on our planet

Recent Examples of terrestrial from the Web

As a result, the inside of the Red Planet offers a snapshot of the materials that are the building blocks for the terrestrial planets.

— eva botkin-kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, "How NASA's latest mission to Mars might dig up truths about Earth," 7 May 2018
The celebrated Trappist-1 star, with at least seven Earth-size terrestrial planets, is an ultra-cool red dwarf that’s just a little bigger than Jupiter.

— Washington Post, "NASA Tess spacecraft to prowl for planets as galactic scout," 12 Apr. 2018
The celebrated Trappist-1 star, with at least seven Earth-size terrestrial planets, is an ultra-cool red dwarf that's just a little bigger than Jupiter.

— marcia dunn, OrlandoSentinel.com, "NASA's new planet hunter set to launch from Cape Canaveral on Monday," 12 Apr. 2018
Wilson ambitiously called for protecting half the terrestrial Earth last October.

— National Geographic, "A Third of Protected Areas Face Human Pressure—What Does it Mean?," 17 May 2018
For some scientists, homing in on how a chain of genetic material was able to come together to start terrestrial life now involves looking away from Earth.

— luba ostashevsky, Ars Technica, "How did life begin? It’s Chemistry 101, but in space," 26 Feb. 2018
That is why inclusions in terrestrial diamonds has been so important for researchers.

— ashley strickland, CNN, "These diamonds are from one of our solar system's 'lost planets'," 17 May 2018
But the signal is hard to discern in the maelstrom of radio noise from terrestrial sources and other objects across the universe.

— daniel clery, Science | AAAS, "China’s moon mission will probe cosmic dark ages," 16 May 2018
The thin air at the surface of Mars is the equivalent of being 100,000 feet above Earth — well beyond the limits of terrestrial helicopters — although the weaker gravity helps.

— kenneth chang, BostonGlobe.com, "NASA ready to try flying helicopter on Mars," 12 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'terrestrial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Terrestrial might be a pretty down-to-earth word, but some of its relatives are out of this world. "Terrestrial" first appeared in English in the 15th century and derives from the Latin root terra, which means "earth." In the mid-1800s "extra-" was added to "terrestrial," giving us "extraterrestrial," an adjective that can be used to describe things (including science fiction creatures) that come from space. "Terrestrial" shares the "-al" suffix with "celestial," which was first used in the 14th century. Not surprisingly, "celestial" ("of or relating to the sky or visible heavens") traces back to the Latin for sky, "caelum."

Origin and Etymology of terrestrial

Middle English, from Latin terrestris, from terra earth — more at ¹terrace

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

terrestrial Synonyms

Other Astronomy Terms

gibbous, nadir, nebulous, penumbra, retrograde, sidereal, syzygy, wane, wax, zenith

TERRESTRIAL Defined for English Language Learners

terrestrial

adjective

Definition of terrestrial for English Language Learners

: relating to or occurring on the earth
: living or growing on land instead of in water or air
: sending a broadcast signal from the Earth

TERRESTRIAL Defined for Kids

terrestrial

adjective ter·res·tri·al \ tə-ˈre-strē-əl \

Definition of terrestrial for Students

1 : relating to the earth or its people Does anything like terrestrial life exist on other planets?

2 : living or growing on land

terrestrial birds

Word Root of terrestrial

The Latin word terra, meaning “earth,” “land,” or “ground,” gives us the root terr. Words from the Latin terra have something to do with the earth or land. A territory is an area of land ruled by a particular government. A terrace is a piece of land with a flat top. Anything terrestrial lives on land and not in water.