terrestrial

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

|Updated on: 29 Jul 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

Consumers have immediate access to those heritage acts through streaming platforms, a bevy of SiriusXM satellite channels or classic country terrestrial formats, which were scarce in previous decades.

— tom roland, Billboard, "Country's Roots Are Showing as New Releases Embrace Old-School Sounds," 11 July 2018
To adhere to the principle of planetary protection, any spacecraft going to Mars, or to any other destination where conditions for life might exist, should not contaminate that environment with our terrestrial microbes.

— joel achenbach, Washington Post, "NASA needs to upgrade its ‘planetary protection’ efforts, experts say," 2 July 2018
On Palmyra Atoll near Hawaii, for instance, rodents were even mucking with terrestrial vegetation.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Rats! Coral Reefs Aren't Getting the Bird Poop They Need," 11 July 2018
And is diverting billions of dollars to interplanetary travel the most important project in human history, or an incomprehensible waste of money at a time when there are so many terrestrial crises on this side of the ozone layer?

— derek thompson, The Atlantic, "Is Colonizing Mars the Most Important Project in Human History?," 29 June 2018
The finding is providing a glimpse into the tempestuous nature of our solar system before terrestrial planets like the Earth and Mars were formed.

— ashley strickland, CNN, "These diamonds are from one of our solar system's 'lost planets'," 17 May 2018
This would give them another similarity to our solar system's terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "TRAPPIST-1 Planets Are Even More Like Earth Than We Thought," 5 Feb. 2018
Laboe mentions talking to a listener in Houston, where the show doesn’t air on terrestrial radio.

— liz ohanesian, Los Angeles Magazine, "For 70-Plus Years, Art Laboe Has Brought People Together Over the Radio Waves and IRL," 27 June 2018
Lynch, whose digital bonafides include starting Sling TV, is spearheading Pandora’s battle for a slice of the $15 billion terrestrial radio ad business.

— claire atkinson, NBC News, "Pandora's CEO on turning around the streaming music giant," 21 June 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.