extraterrestrial

1 of 2

adjective

ex·​tra·​ter·​res·​tri·​al ˌek-strə-tə-ˈre-strē-əl How to pronounce extraterrestrial (audio)
-ˈres-chəl,
-ˈresh-chəl
: originating, existing, or occurring outside the earth or its atmosphere
extraterrestrial life

extraterrestrial

2 of 2

noun

: a being from another world : an extraterrestrial being

Examples of extraterrestrial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
From plasma-spewing hellscapes to a frigid land with air so thick a human could don a winged suit and take flight, these extraterrestrial moons are fascinating worlds in their own right, and may even be unexpected candidates for harboring life. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 This both offers clues to find extraterrestrial life and complicates our observations. Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024 Europa is considered one of the best candidates in the solar system for supporting extraterrestrial life. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 However, these missions can provide only preliminary evidence—through remote sensing–that extraterrestrial life is possible on these moons. IEEE Spectrum, 4 Mar. 2024 In a new study, a team of Italian researchers announced the discovery of a new type of quasicrystal in extraterrestrial material recovered over 20 years ago. David Bressan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Share [Findings] Terrestrial bacteria can grow on extraterrestrial nutrients; the black hole nearest Earth was discovered in the constellation Telescopium; and X-ray experiments conducted at the European Synchrotron indicated that moisture is destroying The Scream. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024 Intrigued by this discovery, further analysis to identify the structural properties of the mineral phases in the extraterrestrial rock showed no regular symmetry, but a pattern resembling material recovered first from the Khatyrka meteorite. David Bressan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 As a young boy growing up in Mexico, he was fascinated with the extraterrestrial visitors who routinely touch down on Earth in science-fiction stories. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024
Noun
Whether or not extraterrestrials take notice remains to be seen. Eric Lagatta, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Secret organizations communicate with extraterrestrials, but keep this fact from the public. Mark Travers, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Tasked with working alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to translate what the extraterrestrials — referred to as Heptapods — are after, Louise begins to bond with and understand Earth’s visitors. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024 With the fate of the world resting on Bumblebee's metal shoulders, the transformer and Charlie team up to protect Earth from the Decepticons and Agent Burns (John Cena), the head of a secret agency tasked with helping to protect the planet from hostile extraterrestrials. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024 If extraterrestrials can be covered up, what else is being hidden? Michelle Orange, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023 For one thing, both places were crawling with cats, turning a high-concept livestream from Marvel Entertainment into a chaotic scene of tumbling, jumping, eating, purring felines that just might have been extraterrestrials in disguise (a.k.a. Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2024 Ergo pre-Columbian people must have achieved flight, millennia before Orville and Wilbur Wright, with help from extraterrestrials. Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023 Whereas previous waves were driven by popular culture, from science fiction paperbacks to The X-Files, this time high-ranking insiders had gone on record about the existence of extraterrestrials. Michelle Orange, Harper's Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'extraterrestrial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1848, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of extraterrestrial was in 1848

Dictionary Entries Near extraterrestrial

Cite this Entry

“Extraterrestrial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extraterrestrial. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

extraterrestrial

adjective
ex·​tra·​ter·​res·​tri·​al
ˌek-strə-tə-ˈres-trē-əl
: coming from or existing outside the earth or its atmosphere
extraterrestrial life
extraterrestrial noun

More from Merriam-Webster on extraterrestrial

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