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Definition of earth noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

earth

noun
 
 
/ɜːθ/
 
/ɜːrθ/
Idioms
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  1.  
    (also Earth, the Earth)
    [uncountable, singular] the world; the planet that we live on
    • the planet Earth
    • The earth revolves around the sun.
    • a satellite orbiting the earth
    • the earth's surface/crust
    • on earth the history of life on earth
    • I must be the happiest person on earth!
    Wordfinder
    Extra Examples
    • No one knows what happens to us after we leave this earth.
    • The Bible says the meek will inherit the earth.
    • The earth revolves on its axis.
    • a lost spirit, wandering the earth
    • humans and other species that inhabit the earth
    • the last asteroid that hit the earth
    • the moon's orbit around the earth
    • She believed that demons walked the earth.
    • when dinosaurs roamed the earth
    • The astronauts were able to send the information back to earth.
    Topics Spacea2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • the entire
    • the whole
    verb + earth
    • circle
    • orbit
    • create
    • …
    earth + verb
    • orbit something
    • revolve
    • rotate
    • …
    earth + noun
    • history
    • sciences
    • scientist
    • …
    preposition
    • above the earth
    • around the earth
    • round the earth
    • …
    phrases
    • inherit the earth
    • (the) planet earth
    • the centre/​center of the earth
    • …
    See full entry
  2.  
     [uncountable, singular] land; the hard surface of the world that is not the sea or the sky; the ground
    • After a week at sea, it was good to feel the earth beneath our feet again.
    • above the earth fifty feet above the earth
    • under/below/beneath the earth in mines deep under the earth
    • You could feel the earth shake as the truck came closer.
    see also scorched earth policy
    Extra Examples
    • Furniture fell over as the room was shaken by an earth tremor.
    • The wreckage of the plane was scattered across the parched earth.
    • The bunker is located deep below the earth.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • bare
    • fertile
    • barren
    • …
    … of earth
    • clod
    • clump
    • lump
    • …
    earth + verb
    • shake
    • tremble
    earth + noun
    • bank
    • mound
    • tremor
    • …
    preposition
    • in the earth
    • under the earth
    See full entry
  3.  
     [uncountable] the substance that plants grow in
    • a clod/mound of earth
    • I cleaned off the earth clinging to my boots.
    see also fuller’s earth
    Extra Examples
    • I filled the pot with a handful of loose earth.
    • I scrambled to the top of the steep earth bank.
    • My boots were caked in big clods of wet earth.
    • The fields had been ploughed, and there was nothing but bare earth to be seen.
    • The plants must have their roots in the earth.
    • The sun beat down on the baked earth.
    • Dig the earth to a depth of two spade lengths.
    • His boots sank into the soft earth.
    • In the air was the smell of freshly dug earth.
    Topics Farmingb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • bare
    • fertile
    • barren
    • …
    … of earth
    • clod
    • clump
    • lump
    • …
    earth + verb
    • shake
    • tremble
    earth + noun
    • bank
    • mound
    • tremor
    • …
    preposition
    • in the earth
    • under the earth
    See full entry
  4. [countable] the hole under the ground where an animal, especially a fox, lives
  5. (British English)
    (North American English ground)
    [countable, usually singular] a wire that connects an electric circuit with the ground and makes it safeTopics Engineeringc2
    6. Word OriginOld English eorthe, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch aarde and German Erde.
see also rare earth
Idioms
be, feel, look, taste, etc. like nothing on earth
  1. (informal) to be, feel, look, taste, etc. very bad
charge, cost, pay, etc. the earth
  1. (British English, informal) to charge, etc. a lot of money
    • I'd love that dress, but it costs the earth.
    • If you want a house in London, you’ll have to pay the earth for it.
come back/down to earth (with a bang/bump) | bring somebody (back) down to earth (with a bang/bump)
  1. (informal) to return, or to make somebody return, to a normal way of thinking or behaving after a time when you/they have been very excited, not very practical, etc. see also down to earth
disappear/vanish off the face of the earth
  1. to disappear completely
    • Keep looking—they can't just have vanished off the face of the earth.
go to earth/ground
  1. (British English) to hide, especially to escape from somebody
go to the ends of the earth
  1. to do everything possible, even if it is difficult, in order to get or achieve something
    • I'd go to the ends of the earth to see her again.
    Topics Successc2
how, why, where, who, etc. on earth
  1. (informal) used to emphasize the question you are asking when you are surprised or angry or cannot think of an obvious answer
    • What on earth are you doing?
    • How on earth can she afford that?
move heaven and earth
  1. to do everything you possibly can in order to achieve somethingTopics Successc2
on earth
  1. used after negative nouns or pronouns to emphasize what you are saying
    • Nothing on earth would persuade me to go with him.
promise (somebody) the earth/moon/world
  1. (informal) to make promises that will be impossible to keep
    • Politicians promise the earth before an election, but things are different afterwards.
run somebody/something to earth/ground
  1. (British English) to find somebody/something after looking hard for a long time
the salt of the earth
  1. a very good and honest person that you can always depend on
wipe somebody/something off the face of the earth | wipe something off the map
  1. to destroy or remove somebody/something completely
See earth in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee earth in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: earth

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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