as in soil
the solid part of our planet's surface as distinguished from the sea and air after that nightmarish storm, the sailors were grateful to reach terra firma

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of terra firma At approximately 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the flight, the civilian astronauts returned to their seats for their journey back to terra firma. Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 29 June 2025 And boy did the terrain change while crawling up, along, and down steep unpaved terra firma. Peter Nelson, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025 Helium-3 is rare on terra firma, but is thought to be abundant in the regolith of the Moon. Paul Ridden may 27, New Atlas, 27 May 2025 Sydney Chandler, daughter of Kyle Chandler, stars as a young woman who must respond when a spacecraft carrying the deadliest being in the galaxy crash-lands on terra firma. Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for terra firma
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terra firma
Noun
  • Orchids are heavy feeders, and their soil alone won't provide enough nutrients for them.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Add compost to the soil to provide organic matter and improve soil structure.
    Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The series pits teams of two contestants, who usually know each other prior, against each other in a race across unfamiliar lands toward a $1 million cash prize.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Verghese estimated the world requires 593 million hectares of land—which is equivalent to twice the size of India—every year for crop cultivation at current productivity growth rates to meet that challenge.
    Nino Paoli, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Since October 2023, Israel's ground and air offensives in Gaza have displaced more than 2 million people and killed more than 68,500 Palestinians, according to the AP.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Shared ground is one of the most important ways for partners to build a rhythm together, and that rhythm can determine how long a relationship lasts.
    Mark Travers, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • To put this into perspective, while CORONA photographed approximately 590 million square miles of the earth’s surface during its entire multiyear run, Planet photographs 186 million square miles every day.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Trump signed a rare-earths deal with Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
    Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Terra firma.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terra%20firma. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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