biosphere
Americannoun
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the part of the earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere that supports life.
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the ecosystem comprising the entire earth and the living organisms that inhabit it.
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012-
The parts of the land, sea, and atmosphere in which organisms are able to live. The biosphere is an irregularly shaped, relatively thin zone in which life is concentrated on or near the Earth's surface and throughout its waters.
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All the Earth's ecosystems considered as a single, self-sustaining unit.
Related Words
See ecosystem ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
- biospheric adjective
Etymology
Origin of biosphere
First recorded in 1895–1900; from German Biosphäre; bio-, -sphere
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers new understanding of Earth's earliest biosphere.
From Science Daily
"By understanding the limits that apply to all living systems, we can better predict how cells, ecosystems, and even entire biospheres respond to changing environments."
From Science Daily
By demonstrating how urea could form naturally under Archean conditions and showing that it acts as both a nutrient and an inhibitor, the researchers revealed how subtle chemical balances shaped Earth's early biosphere.
From Science Daily
A planet with ten percent carbon dioxide -- if located farther from its sun or orbiting a dimmer, younger star -- could support a biosphere for up to 4.2 billion years.
From Science Daily
As well as the music, climate activist Greta Thunberg also made a surprise appearance, telling festival goers the earth's biosphere is "not just changing, it is breaking down".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
