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terra

American  
[ter-uh] / ˈtɛr ə /

noun

  1. earth; land.

terra British  
/ ˈtɛrə /

noun

  1. (in legal contexts) earth or land

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
terra Scientific  
/ tĕr′ə /

  1. A rough highland or mountainous region of the moon with a relatively high albedo.

  2. Compare mare

  3. A vast highland region on a planet.

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.

The kitchen floor suddenly terra incognita, Jack looked to me across the table for help.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

The fact that scientists are finding intact biochar in the Amazon’s ancient terra preta suggests that it’s happening.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 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

To begin with, slash-and-burn simply does not produce enough charcoal to make terra preta—the carbon mostly goes into the air in the form of carbon dioxide.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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.