hemisphere

American  

[hem-i-sfeer] / ˈhɛm ɪˌsfɪər /

noun

• hemispheres
  plural

1. (often initial capital letter) half of the terrestrial globe or celestial sphere, especially one of the halves into which the earth is divided.

2. a map or projection representing one of these halves.

3. a half of a sphere.

4. Anatomy. either of the lateral halves of the cerebrum or cerebellum.

5. the area within which something occurs or dominates; sphere; realm.

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hemisphere British  

/ ˈhɛmɪˌsfɪə /

noun

1. one half of a sphere

2. 1. half of the terrestrial globe, divided into northern and southern hemispheres by the equator or into eastern and western hemispheres by some meridians, usually 0° and 180°

   2. a map or projection of one of the hemispheres

3. either of the two halves of the celestial sphere that lie north or south of the celestial equator

4. anatomy short for cerebral hemisphere

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hemisphere Scientific  

/ hĕm′ĭ-sfîr′ /

1. One half of a sphere, formed by a plane that passes through the center of the sphere.

2. Either the northern or southern half of the Earth as divided by the equator, or the eastern or western half as divided by a meridian, especially the prime meridian.

3. One half of the celestial sphere as divided by any of various great circles, especially the celestial equator and the ecliptic.

4. See more at celestial sphere

5. See cerebral hemisphere

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hemisphere Cultural  

1. Any half of the Earth's surface.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hemispheric
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hemispheres
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hemisphere

1325–75; < Latin hēmisphaerium < Greek hēmisphaírion; replacing Middle English emysperie < Old French emispere < Latin

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Explanation

A hemisphere is half of a sphere. If it’s a cold winter in the northern hemisphere, take a winter getaway to sunbathe somewhere in the southern hemisphere. Hemisphere comes from the Greek, and combines the prefix hemi-, for "half," with sphere, or "perfectly round ball." We talk about the earth as divided at the equator into the northern and southern hemispheres (or divided at the prime meridian into eastern and western hemispheres). In biology, there are two cerebral, or brain, hemispheres — also known as the right and left sides of the brain.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hemisphere hemispheres

The northern hemisphere game has deep-rooted problems, and seems to be stuck in stasis when compared with the thriving NRL.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

However, the measurements showed that this darker hemisphere was not warm enough to explain all the missing heat.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

The wiser course is to work with his government to check Chinese influence in the hemisphere and to build, carefully and gingerly, on the shared interest in a stable Venezuela.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The situation changed once the Moon settled into an orbit that kept the same hemisphere facing our planet.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Indians had expanded their Neolithic revolutions to create a panoply of diverse civilizations across the hemisphere.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Either Mg-suite magmas formed on the far side without substantial involvement from KREEP-rich material, or the layer containing these elements developed unevenly across the Moon, leaving the two hemispheres with different chemical compositions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

"Our findings suggest that the mass of Earth's water and air moving between the hemispheres is smaller than previously thought."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

By combining these new southern observations with data gathered in the north, SDSS-V is bringing panoptic spectroscopy across both hemispheres.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

To investigate this connection, the team studied a large multicenter group consisting of fifty patients and one hundred brain hemispheres.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

The two hemispheres specialize in different mental skills, but brain functions are not as neatly divided as they appear.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

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