terrestrial planet

/təˌrɛstriəl ˌplænət/

Other forms: terrestrial planets

Definitions of terrestrial planet

1. noun

   a planet having a compact rocky surface like the Earth's; the four innermost planets in the solar system
   examples:

   Earth

   the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on

   Red Planet

   a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color

   Mercury

   the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun

   Venus

   the second nearest planet to the sun; it is peculiar in that its rotation is slow and retrograde (in the opposite sense of the Earth and all other planets except Uranus); it is visible from Earth as an early `morning star' or an `evening star'

   type of:

   major planet, planet

   (astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in order of their proximity to the sun; viewed from the constellation Hercules, all the planets rotate around the sun in a counterclockwise direction