environment

American  

[en-vahy-ruhn-muhnt, -vahy-ern-] / ɛnˈvaɪ rən mənt, -ˈvaɪ ərn- /

noun

environments plural

1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu.

   Synonyms:

   environs, locale

2. Ecology. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.

3. the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.

4. Computers. the hardware or software configuration, or the mode of operation, of a computer system.

   In a time-sharing environment, transactions are processed as they occur.

5. an indoor or outdoor setting characterized by the presence of environmental art that is designed specifically to make use of that site.

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environment British  

/ ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt /

noun

1. external conditions or surroundings, esp those in which people live or work

2. ecology the external surroundings in which a plant or animal lives, which tend to influence its development and behaviour

3. the state of being environed; encirclement

4. computing an operating system, program, or integrated suite of programs that provides all the facilities necessary for a particular application

   a word-processing environment

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environment Scientific  

/ ĕn-vī′rən-mənt /

1. All of the biotic and abiotic factors that act on an organism, population, or ecological community and influence its survival and development. Biotic factors include the organisms themselves, their food, and their interactions. Abiotic factors include such items as sunlight, soil, air, water, climate, and pollution. Organisms respond to changes in their environment by evolutionary adaptations in form and behavior.

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Synonym Usage

Environment, milieu, ambiance, setting, surroundings all refer to what makes up the atmosphere or background against which someone or something is seen. Environment may refer either to actual physical surroundings or to social or cultural background factors: an environment of crime and grinding poverty. Milieu, encountered most often in literary writing, refers to intangible aspects of the environment: an exhilarating milieu of artistic ferment and innovation. Ambiance applies to the atmosphere of the surroundings, their mood or tone: an ambiance of ease and elegance. Setting suggests a background that sets something off: a perfect setting for the emerald. Surroundings alludes specifically to the physical aspects of the environment: awoke in strange surroundings; blend in with her surroundings. See ecosystem ( def. ).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• environmental
  adjective
• environmentally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• environments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of environment

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Middle French environnement; see environ, -ment

Explanation

Think of the environment as everything that is around you. A quiet room with good lighting and no distractions is a good environment for doing homework, or at least that's what your parents and teachers think. Environment generally refers to your surroundings. If something is good for the environment, it is beneficial to the complex system of plant and animal life, water and air on Earth. An environment need not be so large, however. The environment of your living room means the tables, chairs and decor that are in the room. Sometimes it refers to the general attitude of a place. Do you thrive in a competitive environment or prefer an atmosphere of cooperation?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

environment environments

You are in an excellent concert hall-like acoustical environment while in the great outdoors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Forde, who is also the authority's portfolio holder for climate and the environment, has declined to comment.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

“Operationally, FY 2027 performance will continue to be influenced by the broader macroeconomic environment but as we have demonstrated, we have a resilient business and can adapt quickly,” it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

“In the balance of trying to consider industry and economy, and also trying to consider the environment, the scales tilted way too far to the point where industry is prioritized over people,” Parker said.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

One day, a man comes to my environment that I have never seen before.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

"We have laws regulating contamination of Earth environments like Antarctica and national parks," she said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

Former officials said there are significant engineering challenges to overhauling a plane to be capable enough to carry a president in complicated threat environments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Priyadarshini said she has long been interested in studying spiders that live at high elevations because those environments differ greatly from the lowland plains in both vegetation and landscape.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Increasingly this includes early humanoid models, designed to behave and look like humans, and operate in environments designed for people.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Instead, using the best tools they have and all the knowledge that they can gather, they work to create future environments.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• climate
• habitat
• mise en scène
• setting
• situation
• status
• surroundings