I. earth 1 S2 W2 /ɜːθ $ ɜːrθ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ earth , ↑ earthling , ↑ earthiness ; adjective : ↑ earthy , ↑ earthly ≠ ↑ unearthly , ↑ earthen ; verb : ↑ unearth ; adverb : earthward(s)]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: eorthe ]
1 . WORLD ( also Earth ) [singular, uncountable] the ↑ planet that we live on:
the planet Earth
the earth
The earth revolves around the sun.
the earth’s surface/atmosphere/crust etc
71% of the earth’s surface is sea.
on earth
the origin of life on Earth
2 . SOIL [uncountable] the substance that plants grow in SYN soil
soft/bare/damp etc earth
footprints in the wet earth
a lump of earth
3 . LAND [uncountable] the hard surface of the world, as opposed to the sea or air SYN ground :
The earth shook.
They watched the kite fall back to earth.
4 . what/why/how etc on earth ...? spoken used to ask a question when you are very surprised or angry:
What on earth did you do that for?
5 . cost/pay/charge the earth informal to cost etc a very large amount of money:
It must have cost the earth!
6 . the biggest/tallest/most expensive etc ... on earth the biggest etc example of something that exists:
the most powerful man on earth
7 . RELIGION [uncountable] used in religion to refer to the time when people are alive as opposed to being in ↑ heaven or ↑ hell :
Jesus’ time on earth
⇨ move heaven and earth at ↑ heaven (9), ⇨ hell on earth at ↑ hell 1 (2)
8 . come back/down to earth (with a bump) to stop behaving or living in a way that is not practical:
She soon brought him back down to earth.
9 . no ... /nothing on earth used to emphasize that you mean nothing at all:
Nothing on earth would have persuaded me to go.
There’s no reason on earth why you should tell him.
10 . look/feel etc like nothing on earth British English to look or feel very strange:
The next morning I felt like nothing on earth.
11 . ELECTRICITY [countable usually singular] British English a wire that makes a piece of electrical equipment safe by connecting it with the ground SYN ground American English
12 . ANIMAL’S HOME [countable] the hole where a wild animal such as a ↑ fox lives ⇨ den , lair
13 . go to earth British English to hide in order to escape from someone who is chasing you SYN go to ground
14 . run somebody/something to earth British English to find someone, especially by looking in many places
⇨ ↑ down-to-earth , ⇨ promise somebody the moon/the earth at ↑ promise 1 (3), ⇨ the salt of the earth at ↑ salt 1 (2)
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ nouns
▪ the Earth’s surface
Over seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean.
▪ the Earth’s crust
Volcanoes and earthquakes occur where there is movement in the Earth’s crust.
▪ the Earth’s core (=central part)
The Earth’s inner core is almost entirely composed of iron.
▪ the Earth’s mantle (=parts around the central core)
the incredibly high temperatures and pressures deep within Earth’s mantle
▪ the Earth’s atmosphere
The Earth’s atmosphere blocks off all radiation from space other than light and radio waves.
▪ the Earth’s gravity
the continual pull of the Earth’s gravity on the Moon.
▪ the Earth’s orbit
The rocket left the Earth's orbit and set off to Mars.
▪ the Earth’s rotation
Has the Earth’s rotation always been the same?
▪ the Earth’s axis
Over thousands of years, the direction of Earth’s axis slowly changes.
▪ the Earth’s climate
The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has an influence on the Earth’s climate.
■ verbs
▪ orbit
The Earth orbits the Sun once a year, and the Moon orbits the Earth approximately every 27 days.
▪ revolve/rotate
Because of the direction in which the Earth revolves, the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west.
▪ go round/around
Why does the Earth goes around the Sun?
■ phrases
▪ Planet Earth
the origin of life on Planet Earth
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ soft
The wheels got stuck in the soft earth.
▪ hard
It hadn’t rained for weeks and the earth was hard.
▪ bare (=not covered by trees or grass)
There were no flowers or grass, just bare earth.
▪ fertile
This earth is not fertile enough to produce crops.
▪ freshly-dug
The poppy seeds were planted in the freshly-dug earth.
▪ moist/damp
I slipped on the damp earth and fell over.
■ phrases
▪ a mound of earth (=a pile of earth that looks like a small hill)
A mound of earth lay beside the grave.
▪ a clod/clump of earth (=a lump of earth)
The horse’s hooves kicked up great clods of earth.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ Earth/the Earth the planet we live on - used especially when talking about this in relation to other planets and to space. Also used when talking about being on the ground as opposed to being in the sky:
The Earth moves around the sun.
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The space shuttle returned to Earth safely.
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It’s the highest mountain on Earth.
▪ the world the planet we live on – used when talking about all the people, countries, places etc on it:
He’s one of the richest men in the world.
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Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the world.
▪ land the solid dry part of the Earth’s surface:
After weeks at sea, the sailors saw land.
▪ the globe the world – used especially when you want to emphasize that something happens in or comes from every part of the world:
a meeting of scientists from around the globe
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There has been an increase in skin cancer across the globe.
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The network is accessible from any point on the globe.
II. earth 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
British English to make electrical equipment safe by connecting it to the ground with a wire SYN ground American English :
Make sure that the machine is properly earthed.