adjective
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made of baked clay
an earthen pot
-
made of earth
Etymology
Origin of earthen
1175–1225; Middle English erthen, Old English eorthen. See earth, -en 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tell me about the earthen colors in your collections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
On the riverbank, local resident Ahmad Saadoun pointed at a temporary earthen bridge that collapsed.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Using a rich, bold palette, he depicted Islamic astronomers, philosophers, and desert wanderers with the same kinetic lines that defined his Indian art, but in warmer, earthen ochres reflecting the Gulf's landscape.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025
What survives of this ancient city today includes two long rows of rectangular earthen mounds, each about a meter high.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2025
The final result covered almost fifteen acres and was the largest earthen structure in the Western Hemisphere; though built out of unsuitable material in a floodplain, it has stood for a thousand years.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.