earthbound

¹

or earth-bound

[ urth-bound ]

adjective

1. firmly set in or attached to the earth.
2. limited to the earth or its surface.
3. having only earthly interests.
4. lacking in imagination or sophistication:

   earthbound prose.

earthbound

²

or earth-bound

[ urth-bound ]

adjective

1. headed for the earth:

   an earthbound meteorite.

earthbound

/ ˈɜːθˌbaʊnd /

adjective

1. confined to the earth
2. lacking in imagination; pedestrian or dull
3. moving or heading towards the earth

Word History and Origins

Origin of earthbound¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; earth + -bound ¹

Origin of earthbound²

First recorded in 1930–35; earth + -bound ²

Example Sentences

Cree First Nations people, for example, once believed they were the spirits of the dead trying to communicate with their earthbound loved ones.

From Ozy

The supernova that is gymnast Simone Biles has been explaining a phenomenon called “the twisties” for we who are more earthbound creatures.

From Time

This wordless, music-less, but not gruntless, film details the daily farm life of a mother pig, the Gunda of the title, who, after giving birth to a passel of little squigglies, cares for them with a kind of earthbound tenderness.

From Time

Theoretically, Ravn X could depart from an airport, deliver its payload to space, return back to the airport to be reloaded with a filled cargo module, then take off again for earthbound deliveries.

From Singularity Hub 

Scooter Braun came across an earthbound angel on YouTube in 2008.

From The Daily Beast

But let us return to non-fiction, the knowable world, and frankly earthbound thoughts.

From The Daily Beast

Sally carried the dreams of her earthbound sisters with grace and good humor.

From The Daily Beast

Both the winged feathered kind, and the earthbound humanoids, waiting to be plucked.

From The Daily Beast

Only earthbound creatures—like the star-fish, for instance—become all they can become in this sphere; man's soul must evolve.

From Project Gutenberg

He is far away in his dreamings now, without a thought for his earthbound fellow-creatures.

From Project Gutenberg

He saw that he was in the compartment of an interstellar ship and he knew that it was Earthbound.

From Project Gutenberg

Will the emancipated soul be less faithful than the souls still earthbound?

From Project Gutenberg

The big moon, no longer smoking in the earthbound haze, had risen into the clear dominion of the upper sky.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dreary
• humdrum
• lackluster
• mundane