earthling
/ˈɜːθlɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈɚθlɪŋ] /ˈɜːrθlɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · [ˈɚθlɪŋ] /ˈərth-liŋ How to pronounce earthling (audio)/ (ame, mw)
earthling — noun
- earthlingsingular
- earthlingsplural
1. a human from Earth, especially in stories where an alien is talking about people
a human from Earth, especially in stories where an alien is talking about people on this planet.
The silver robot warned the earthlings to leave Mars before sunrise.
aliens calling humans earthlings
Captain Imani laughed when the pilot called her a brave earthling.
call someone an earthling
In the comic, one earthling teaches a lost alien how buses work.
The children shouted, "We come in peace, fellow earthlings!"
The movie's villain sees every earthling as a noisy, careless creature.
- alien
a being from another world, often contrasted with an earthling in stories
- extraterrestrial
more formal scientific term for a non-Earth being
文法句型
call someone an earthling
fellow earthlings
earthling from Earth
用法筆記
Usually appears in science fiction or playful speech. Unlike sense 2, this sense often sounds as if the speaker is outside human society and is pointing out that someone comes from Earth.
常見錯誤
2. someone who lives on Earth, thought of as one member of the planet's human popul
someone who lives on Earth, thought of as one member of the planet's human population.
As earthlings, we all depend on clean air and safe water.
as earthlings
The essay asks what earthlings should do if they find life elsewhere.
earthlings should + verb
No earthling can survive long in space without a suit.
The museum exhibit showed how earthlings have changed the climate.
Future visitors may judge how kindly earthlings treated other species.
- inhabitant
formal and general; it can describe anyone living in a place
- resident
common for someone who lives in a particular place, often officially
- human being
the plain everyday expression, without the planet-wide framing
文法句型
earthlings should + verb
as earthlings
no earthling can + verb
用法筆記
Broader and more neutral than sense 1, though it is still less common than simply saying 'human being' or 'person'. Writers use it when they want to talk about humans as one group living on this planet.