Definition of terra firmanext
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 In the main salon, terra firma appears in dining chairs upholstered in real palm leaf and a two-piece oak coffee table, as large as a redwood’s base, inlaid with green and copper marble. Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 31 Aug. 2025 With Florida’s agricultural and wild lands under increasing pressure from climate change, some scientists believe that sending seeds into space potentially could help strengthen them for what’s ahead back on Florida terra firma. Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2025 The pinkish-coral horizon of the morning had given way to a bright cobalt sky, and as the chopper descended after the fun ride, Ted and I were ready for terra firma, eager to sit down for lunch. John Malone, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025 Back on terra firma, Johnny and I head west, to Pinar del Río, the province on the island's westerly tip that resembles the twisted, straggly end of a rustic country cigar, like the ones rolled by its farmers. Lydia Bell, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for terra firma
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terra firma
Noun
  • Anthropic was happy to permit a role for Claude to surveil individuals under the jurisdiction of a FISA court, a secretive tribunal that oversees requests for surveillance warrants involving foreign powers or their agents on domestic soil.
    Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
  • The climate here works in concert with the estate’s soils.
    Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Don Abelardo Rodriguez, son of the Mexican president, spotted this plot of land from helicopter and turned it into a private home and eventually the region's first resort.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2026
  • White officials used their positions atop the local commissions that oversaw federal agricultural programs to drive Black landowners into so much debt that most of them had to sell off their land.
    Boyce Upholt, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The deployment does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Mar. 2026
  • Sontag claimed to have forgotten about him, but his vanishing is better explained on writerly grounds.
    Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Get cool in Helsinki Finland consistently ranks as the happiest country on earth.
    Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
  • This is particularly offensive in the United States, where politicians regularly say this is the greatest democracy on earth.
    Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Terra firma.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terra%20firma. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.

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