Meanings
present singular third person terraforms · participle present terraforming · participle past terraformed · past terraformed
- transitiveliteratureTo transform the atmosphere (or biosphere) of another planet into one having the characteristics of Earth.
1 more example
He had been the original claimant of Obania, forty years ago; and Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock, only two kilometers through—by sinking a shaft to its heart for the paragravity installation, generating oxygen and water from mineral oxides, releasing absorptive gases to trap the feeble heat of the far-off Sun.
1942 July, Jack Williamson, “Collision Orbit”, in Astounding Science-Fiction, volume 29, number 5, page 82Synonyms: Earthscape
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo transform the atmosphere (or biosphere) of another planet into one having the characteristics of Earth.
Origin
From Terra (“planet Earth”) + -form (“having the form of”). Coined by American science fiction author Jack Williamson in 1942 as part of his novella Collision Orbit.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish maankaltaistaa
- maankaltaistaatransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
French terraformer
- terraformertransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
German terraformen
- terraformentransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Hungarian terraformál, a Földhöz hasonlóvá tesz
- terraformáltransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
- a Földhöz hasonlóvá tesztransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
- földiesíttransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Japanese テラフォーミングする
- テラフォーミングする (terafōmusuru)transform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Polish terraformować
- terraformowaćtransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Portuguese terraformar
- terraformartransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Spanish terraformar
- terraformartransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Swedish terraformera
- terraformeratransform into one having the characteristics of Earth
Cite this entry
terraform. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terraform
“terraform.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terraform. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “terraform,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terraform.
Source: terraform on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.