terrestrial

American  

[tuh-res-tree-uhl] / təˈrɛs tri əl /

adjective

1. pertaining to, consisting of, or representing the earth as distinct from other planets.

   Synonyms:

   terrene

   Antonyms:

   celestial

2. of or relating to land as distinct from water.

3. Botany.

   1. growing on land; not aquatic.

   2. growing in the ground; not epiphytic or aerial.

4. Zoology. living on or in the ground; not aquatic, arboreal, or aerial.

5. of or relating to the earth or this world; worldly; mundane.

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noun

1. an inhabitant of the earth, especially a human being.

terrestrial British  

/ təˈrɛstrɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the earth

2. of or belonging to the land as opposed to the sea or air

3. (of animals and plants) living or growing on the land

4. earthly, worldly, or mundane

5. (of television signals) sent over the earth's surface from a transmitter on land, rather than by satellite

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noun

1. an inhabitant of the earth

terrestrial Scientific  

/ tə-rĕs′trē-əl /

1. Relating to Earth or its inhabitants.

2. Relating to, living on, or growing on land.

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Related Words

See earthly.

Other Word Forms

• nonterrestrial adjective
• preterrestrial adjective
• superterrestrial adjective
• terrestrially adverb
• terrestrialness noun
• underterrestrial adjective
• unterrestrial adjective

Etymology

Origin of terrestrial

First recorded in 1450–1550; late Middle English from Latin terrestri(s) “pertaining to earth” (derivative of terra “earth”) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Elsewhere, many staples of the terrestrial TV schedules receive the Christmas treatment over the holiday period.

From BBC

When Stern moved to Sirius from terrestrial radio in 2016, he commanded a huge audience estimated at 20 million listeners a day.

From MarketWatch

Now, space-based broadband is capable of delivering phone and data services on par with terrestrial infrastructure.

From Barron's

Jeff Bezos, whose Blue Origin has reportedly been working on orbital data centers for more than a year, has said it will take the next few decades to beat the cost of terrestrial data centers.

From MarketWatch

The African continent is famous for safaris and stunning terrestrial landscapes.

From The Wall Street Journal