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• down-to-earth
  down-to-earth

  adjective

  practical and realistic.
• down to earth
  down to earth

  Back to reality. For example, It's time the employees were brought down to earth concerning the budget . P.G. Wodehouse had this idiom in Very Good, Jeeves! (1930): “I had for some little time been living . . . in another world. I now came down to earth with a bang.” [Late 1920s]

down-to-earth

American  

[doun-too-urth, -tuh-] / ˈdaʊn tuˈɜrθ, -tə- /

adjective

1. practical and realistic.

   a down-to-earth person.

   Synonyms:

   pragmatic, sober, sensible, hardheaded

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down-to-earth British  

adjective

1. sensible; practical; realistic

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down to earth Idioms  

1. Back to reality. For example, It's time the employees were brought down to earth concerning the budget . P.G. Wodehouse had this idiom in Very Good, Jeeves! (1930): “I had for some little time been living . . . in another world. I now came down to earth with a bang.” [Late 1920s]

2. Also, down-to-earth . Realistic or interested in everyday occurrences, as in She is a very down-to-earth person, not at all involved with the glamour of Hollywood . [1930s]

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Etymology

Origin of down-to-earth

First recorded in 1925–30

Explanation

If you're practical and unpretentious, your friends might describe you as down-to-earth. When a movie star is known for being unassuming and friendly, you can also call them down-to-earth. This adjective has two slightly different meanings, the first of which is "realistic and sensible." You could say that someone who's down-to-earth has a lot of common sense. The second meaning is "modest or unpretentious," like a rock star who drives an old car and shows up at the local library and coffee shop — just like a regular person. Either way, being described as down-to-earth is always a compliment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

down-to-earth down to earth

Swift built her reputation as an ultra-relatable pop star, seemingly down-to-earth with her regular girl fashion sensibilities, boy troubles and cat-lady tendencies.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Fans flooded the comments section and praised the actress for her down-to-earth personality.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

This World Cup has also shown the world’s visiting soccer fans the friendly, down-to-earth side of Americans they don’t hear about from the global press.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Along with the masses and institutional events, there have also been multiple meetings with young people where the pope has used more down-to-earth language and spoken about topical issues like mental health.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

I expected Ms. Rowling would just shake my hand, but she was down-to-earth and whispered some encouraging words about my life and future, and then she hugged me.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Optical-networking stocks have come back down to earth in recent months, and a Barclays analyst thinks that Lumentum Holdings shares now look attractive in the wake of their selloff.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

England remain in control of their destiny - but this was a drab encounter that brought them back down to earth with a bump.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Gross margin fell a fraction due to higher transportation costs and egg prices coming back down to earth.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

But this week, the Federal Reserve could bring highflying parts of Wall Street back down to earth.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 14, 2026

It’s always a good idea to keep a plan B in the back of your mind so you can get safely down to earth no matter what happens to you in the air.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein