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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

When Bertha’s down-to-earth sister, Monica, threatens to ruin the overall aesthetic with a dowdy frock, some light sabotage leads Monica to accept Bertha’s previously worn Season 1 gown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

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

Her mother seemed to have become an ordinary down-to-earth woman.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

"Friday nights meant Kelly on the telly. I grew up watching him interview some of the biggest names but still being just like one of yer da's mates, he had such down to earth charm."

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

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

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 14, 2026

The question for investors is when supply may catch up to demand and bring price growth back down to earth.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

The glass was cold beneath his hand, and he watched the snowflakes come crashing down to earth.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas