Definition of terra firmanext
as in soil
the solid part of our planet's surface as distinguished from the sea and air after that nightmarish storm, the sailors were grateful to reach terra firma

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of terra firma There might be a fight to escape, but even those few who crawl over rocks and grit and sand to reach terra firma find their surroundings changed. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 On terra firma, most of the available supply of helium-3 comes as a by-product of nuclear weaponry via the radioactive decay of tritium, a rare isotope of hydrogen that boosts the power of thermonuclear bombs. — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 14 May 2026 Containers aren’t just for urban gardeners who lack space or terra firma. — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 May 2026 Those folks at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio were only dangling 200 feet above terra firma for ten minutes, but for this hombre, that’s ten minutes too many. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for terra firma
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terra firma
Noun
  • Continuing to explore the hotel’s outdoor spaces, next up is the Almagra Rooftop, which gets its name from the originally Arabic word used to describe the typically reddish soil found in Seville.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The mangrove forest's mature trees and carbon-rich soils store earth warming greenhouse gases, said Marie Arnaud, a researcher at the French Sustainable Development Institute based at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Especially if the ship is required to counter a mixture of threats from air, sea, and land.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • And the last independent country in that land before modern Israel, the one Rome conquered, was--wait for it--a Jewish nation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Developed by Ukrainian technology company SkyFall, the drone is intended to reduce rescue times from hours to minutes, reaching hard-to-access combat zones that are currently served by unmanned ground vehicles.
    — DEREK GATOPOULOS, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Democrats are gaining traction in red states and increasingly rebuilding a national brand shredded after the 2024 election, but there’s more ground to regain voters’ trust.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • But the One Ring — the weapon that will reshape Middle-earth — is the true star, and the new peek at the third season revels in its creation.
    — Deborah Day, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • There is no working alternative to Starlink, which has put a massive constellation of low-earth satellites into orbit, and no direct competitor comes close.
    — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Terra firma.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terra%20firma. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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