earth

1 noun

1 WORLD (singular) also the Earth the world that we live in: the planet Earth | The earth revolves around the sun. | The space shuttle is returning to earth.

—see land 1

2 SOIL (U) substance that plants, trees etc grow in: footprints in the wet earth | a lump of earth

3 LAND (singular) the hard surface of the world, as opposed to the sea: After six months at sea, it was good to feel the earth beneath my feet again.

—see land 1

4 what/why/how etc on earth...? spoken used when you are asking a question about something that you are very surprised or annoyed about: What on earth did you do that for?

5 cost/pay/charge the earth informal to cost etc a very large amount of money: What a beautiful necklace! It must have cost the earth!

6 the biggest/tallest/most expensive etc on earth the biggest etc example of something that exists

7 come back/down to earth (with a bump) to stop behaving or living in a way that is not practical: When he realized he'd spent all the money he really came back to earth with a bump.

8 ELECTRICITY (countable usually singular) BrE a wire that makes a piece of electrical equipment safe by connecting it with the ground; ground 1 (30) AmE

9 ANIMAL'S HOME (C) the hole where a wild animal such as a fox lives

10 go to earth BrE to hide in order to escape from someone who is chasing you

11 nothing on earth a strong way of saying `nothing': Nothing on earth would persuade me to repeat the experience of marriage.

12 look/feel etc like nothing on earth BrE to look or feel very strange: It looks like smoked salmon, but tastes like nothing on earth.

13 run sb/sth to earth BrE to find someone, especially by looking in many places: I finally ran him to earth in the stockroom.

—see also: down­to­earth, move heaven and earth heaven (10), hell on earth hell 1 (1), promise sb the moon/the earth promise 1 (3), the salt of the earth salt 1 (2) 2 verb (T) BrE to make electrical equipment safe by connecting it to the ground with a wire; ground 2 (5) AmE: The amplifier wasn't properly earthed.