terra
Americannoun
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terras
plural
noun
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A rough highland or mountainous region of the moon with a relatively high albedo.
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Compare mare
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A vast highland region on a planet.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of terra
Borrowed into English from Latin around 1605–15
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.
See Examples For:
Despite the many Aboriginal communities, the British deemed the place terra nullius—no one’s land—and established a penal colony, bringing diseases that drastically reduced the indigenous population.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
But the fear was that it would happen in space, when you’re 180 miles from terra firma and the nearest fire station.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2025
They came in a small range of colors: sand, terra cotta, chestnut.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2024
This is really quite intriguing as we do not know much about these parts of the genome; our work shows there is benefit in exploring further this genetic terra incognita.'
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024
The earth floats in space; one quarter of the sphere is habitable, but half of it is covered by water, and the remaining quarter represents terra or aqua incognita.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
He began again, starting with Juno’s unforgiving cruelty, sweeping into the cave of winds, and finally breaking into the storm: ruunt et terras turbine perflant.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
At the termination of the rainy season in March, it was generally about two-thirds full, supplied from the flat roof or terras during the rainy season.
From An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by James Grey Jackson
“I have preserved it,” he said, “for I am pleased with the gracious terras in which it is couched.”
From The Trapper's Son by William Henry Giles Kingston
List, list, they are come from hunting; stand by, close under this terras, and you shall see it done better than I can show it.
From Every Man out of His Humour by Ben Jonson
Such landslides, terras 230 cahidas, can be rarely foreseen, and are a grave danger to craft when they come close in to rest at night.
From The Sea and the Jungle by H. M. (Henry Major) Tomlinson
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.
