terrestrial

play

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

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

—

terrestrial

noun

—

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

By contrast, terrestrial bioluminescence is relatively new.

— author: william j. broad, Alaska Dispatch News, "The deep seas are alive with light," 23 Aug. 2017
Brad Abrahams - The story of David Huggins, a 73-year-old man who claims to have had a lifetime of encounters with otherworldly beings--including a romance with an extra-terrestrial woman, and chronicled it all in surreal impressionist paintings.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "Critical darling 'Mudbound' to headline 2017 New Orleans Film Festival," 22 Aug. 2017
Seasteading creates communities safe from rising sea-levels and allows political and social innovation that is impossible for those governed by terrestrial governments.

— ed fletcher, sacbee, "What does a boat party have to do with reinventing government? Find out at Ephemerisle," 22 July 2017
Musk must also contend with more terrestrial matters.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "Elon Musk Admits Flying to Mars Might Be Hard," 19 July 2017
Mars is the only terrestrial planet in the solar system to have Trojans, which number in the thousands around Jupiter and about 17 around Neptune, perhaps more.

— marina koren, The Atlantic, "The Mysterious Origins of Mars’s Trailing Asteroids," 18 July 2017
Gunfire and... spear-fire are exchanged in what feels like a Star Wars sequence more than one from a terrestrial battlefield film.

— tom philip, GQ, "War for the Planet of the Apes," 14 July 2017
The bargaining union maintains that NPR’s demands come at a time when the service is seeing its audience grow on terrestrial radio and through podcasting.

— stephen battaglio, latimes.com, "NPR union members will ask SAG-AFTRA to authorize a strike vote," 14 July 2017
Vegetation, snow cover, sunlight and heat all play major roles in the way mercury moves through the atmosphere and the terrestrial earth, and climate change is already having a significant effect on all of them.

— author: chelsea harvey, Alaska Dispatch News, "The Arctic is full of mercury, and scientists think they know how it’s getting there," 12 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

terrestrial Synonyms

Synonyms

carnal, earthborn, earthbound, fleshly, material, mundane, sublunary, temporal, terrene, earthly, worldly

Antonyms

heavenly, nontemporal, unearthly, unworldly

Related Words

animal, bodily, corporal, corporeal, physical; daily, diurnal; unspiritual; anthropic (or anthropical), anthropocentric

Near Antonyms

celestial, Elysian, empyreal, empyrean, supernal; metaphysical; devotional, divine, religious, sacred, spiritual, utopian; extraterrestrial; ethereal, supernatural, transcendent, transcendental

Other Astronomy Terms

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

TERRESTRIAL Defined for English Language Learners

terrestrial

play

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

play

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.