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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

"He brings in the female demographic because he is so sexy - but he appeals to men. He's an honest, good, authentic, down-to-earth type of individual. So you don't really get affronted by him."

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 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

“She’s just always been a goofy and down-to-earth kid. And you know what, it might actually be good for people to see who she is. What you see is what you get with Simone.”

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

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

Kaye, who previously lived in Holbrook, near Ipswich, said there was a "friendly atmosphere", and duetting with Sheeran felt "natural" thanks to his down to earth personality.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

“Good reason. ‘Iwa like stay flying for weeks, never coming down to earth.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila