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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  

[daun-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

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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

When Bertha’s down-to-earth sister, Monica, threatens to ruin the overall aesthetic with a dowdy frock, some light sabotage leads Monica to accept Bertha’s previously worn Season 1 gown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

"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

She seemed pretty down-to-earth for a kid raised in Hollywood.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

People are being wowed by the capabilities of their personal AI agents before being quickly brought back down to earth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Dolly always sort of signaled her love of the mess of it, and it didn’t bring her down to earth in your eyes, it elevated her even more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

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

Holland may be a fully-fledged member of the A-list but he comes across as very down to earth.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

And then he was looking up, turning, following the flight of the ball, which finally came down to earth in deep left center field and bounced once to the fence.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

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