earth

The name of our planet is Earth. It’s between Venus and Mars, and it’s the third planet from the sun.

• There are currently over seven billion people living on Earth.
• People who live on Earth are called earthlings or human beings.
• You can use Google Earth to explore just about any place in the world.
• The planet Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.
• Today is Earth Day! (Notice that the word "Earth" is capitalized when it’s the name of a planet. Do the same for other planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, etc.)

The word "earth" is also used in reference to the ground, the soil, and large areas of islands and continents. (In this case, the "e" is not capitalized when writing.)

• When the earth shakes, this is known as an earthquake.
• As temperatures become warmer in the spring, plants begin to sprout from the earth.
• It feels good to work with the earth when planting a garden.
• Layers of earth below the surface show how an area is affected by climatic events.
• Bill has to move some of the earth around his house because he’s building an addition.

The word "earth" is rarely used as a verb; however, the word "unearth" is relatively common. To unearth something is to dig it out of the ground or find something that was hidden.

• Archaeologists unearthed the remains of an ancient civilization.
• Information unearthed about the politician damaged his reputation.
• The city unearthed a time capsule that was buried over 100 years ago. (A time capsule is a small box or cylinder containing objects of the current era. It is intentionally buried for future generations to find.)

Click here to go to the Word of the Day page.

April 22, 2015