earthbound
earthbound Lexical Profile
earthbound Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Restricted or confined to the Earth or the ground; unable to fly or leave the planet's surface.
"Ostriches and penguins are earthbound birds that have adapted to running and swimming rather than flying."
Confined to material, practical, or mundane concerns; lacking imagination, spirituality, or lofty ideals.
"The poet's soaring imagination contrasted sharply with the earthbound mentality of his pragmatic critics."
Traveling or heading toward the Earth from outer space.
"Mission control closely monitored the trajectory of the earthbound capsule as it prepared for atmospheric re-entry."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Earthbound" is an auto-antonym depending on which root of "bound" is active: it can mean restricted to the Earth (from "bind") or traveling toward the Earth (from Old Norse "buinn", meaning prepared to go).
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the late 16th century, "earthbound" combines "earth" with two distinct etymological senses of "bound": the past participle of "bind" (meaning tied or restricted to the ground) and the adjective meaning "destined or heading for" (from Old Norse "buinn").