Library / English Dictionary

EARTH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A connection between an electrical device and a large conducting body, such as the earth (which is taken to be at zero voltage)

Synonyms:

earth; ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("earth" is a kind of...):

connecter; connection; connective; connector; connexion (an instrumentality that connects)

Domain category:

electricity (a physical phenomenon associated with stationary or moving electrons and protons)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The concerns of this life as distinguished from heaven and the afterlife

Example:

they consider the church to be independent of the world

Synonyms:

earth; earthly concern; world; worldly concern

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("earth" is a kind of...):

concern (something that interests you because it is important or affects you)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The abode of mortals (as contrasted with Heaven or Hell)

Example:

it was hell on earth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("earth" is a kind of...):

location (a point or extent in space)

Derivation:

earthly (of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on

Example:

he sailed around the world

Synonyms:

earth; globe; world

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

terrestrial planet (a planet having a compact rocky surface like the Earth's; the four innermost planets in the solar system)

Holonyms ("earth" is a member of...):

solar system (the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field)

Derivation:

earthling (an inhabitant of the earth)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The solid part of the earth's surface

Example:

he dropped the logs on the ground

Synonyms:

dry land; earth; ground; land; solid ground; terra firma

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("earth" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Part meronym:

earth; globe; world (the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "earth"):

wonderland (a place or scene of great or strange beauty or wonder)

slash (an open tract of land in a forest that is strewn with debris from logging (or fire or wind))

champaign; field; plain (extensive tract of level open land)

peninsula (a large mass of land projecting into a body of water)

oxbow (the land inside an oxbow bend in a river)

neck (a narrow elongated projecting strip of land)

mainland (the main land mass of a country or continent; as distinguished from an island or peninsula)

land mass; landmass (a large continuous extent of land)

isthmus (a relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas)

island (a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water)

forest; timber; timberland; woodland (land that is covered with trees and shrubs)

foreland (land forming the forward margin of something)

floor (the ground on which people and animals move about)

coastal plain (a plain adjacent to a coast)

cape; ness (a strip of land projecting into a body of water)

beachfront (a strip of land running along a beach)

archipelago (a group of many islands in a large body of water)

Instance hyponyms:

America (North America and South America and Central America)

Derivation:

earth (connect to the earth)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface

Example:

they dug into the earth outside the church

Synonyms:

earth; ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("earth" is a kind of...):

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "earth"):

moraine (accumulated earth and stones deposited by a glacier)

diatomaceous earth; diatomite; kieselguhr (a light soil consisting of siliceous diatom remains and often used as a filtering material)

saprolite (a deposit of clay and disintegrating rock that is found in its original place)

dirt; soil (the part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock)

Derivation:

earth (connect to the earth)

earth (hide in the earth like a hunted animal)

earthy (of or consisting of or resembling earth)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("earth" is a kind of...):

element (one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe)

Domain usage:

archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Connect to the earth

Example:

earth the circuit

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "earth" is one way to...):

ground (connect to a ground)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

earth (the solid part of the earth's surface)

earth (the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface)

earthing (fastening electrical equipment to earth)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hide in the earth like a hunted animal

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "earth" is one way to...):

hide; hide out (be or go into hiding; keep out of sight, as for protection and safety)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

earth (the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Earth and the Moon are hit in the same proportions over time.

(Moon Data Sheds Light on Earth’s Asteroid Impact History, NASA)

Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Now, how on earth could you know that the stolen silver was at the bottom of that pond?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The gray of earth and sky had become deeper, more profound.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I remembered Michelet’s “To man, woman is as the earth was to her legendary son; he has but to fall down and kiss her breast and he is strong again.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

‘Why, what on earth does this mean, John?’ he stammered.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We must sterilise all the imported earth between sunrise and sunset; we shall thus catch the Count at his weakest, and without a refuge to fly to.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Earth's magnetic field is generated by liquid iron in the planet's core.

(Juno Peers Inside a Giant, NASA)

A new study reports how the mechanism works: When fossil fuels are burned, sulfuric and nitric acid eventually fall back to earth in rain and snow, causing acidification of the soil.

(Previously unknown mechanism causes increased forest water use, National Science Foundation)

Murder, if ever there was one upon earth.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)