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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

She has cultivated a down-to-earth image, posting photos on social media of her meal of tinned mackerel on rye bread and cleaning windows at home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

“This is the type of friend a lot of us wish we had,” Bryon Taylor wrote on Facebook, who described Porter as a funny, cool and down-to-earth person who loved life.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2026

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

Templeman avidly avoided the public spotlight, with Branson describing her as a "down-to-earth Scottish lady" and "very private person" who almost never gave interviews.

From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025

Let’s come up with a more down-to-earth way of saying this.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner