atmosphere
Americannoun
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the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air.
a weather balloon rising high into the atmosphere.
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this medium at a given place.
the warm, dry atmosphere of the Joshua tree's natural environment.
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Astronomy. the gaseous envelope surrounding a heavenly body.
The white ovals seen in Saturn's atmosphere could be intense storms.
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Chemistry. any gaseous envelope or medium.
The ether was treated with a sulfate in an atmosphere of coal gas.
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a conventional unit of pressure, the normal pressure of the air at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch (101.3 kilopascals), equal to the pressure exerted by a column of mercury 29.92 inches (760 millimeters) high. atm.
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a surrounding or pervading mood, environment, or influence.
an atmosphere of impending war;
a very tense atmosphere.
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the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel.
the chilly atmosphere of a ghost story.
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a distinctive quality, as of a place; character.
The old part of town has lots of atmosphere.
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Radio, Television, Movies. Also atmospheres, atmos the background sound that is present, or would naturally be present, in the location where a recording or broadcast is made, often recorded as a separate track and then mixed; ambient sound.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth or any other celestial body See also troposphere stratosphere mesosphere ionosphere
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the air or climate in a particular place
the atmosphere was thick with smoke
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a general pervasive feeling or mood
an atmosphere of elation
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the prevailing tone or mood of a novel, symphony, painting, or other work of art
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a special mood or character associated with a place
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any local gaseous environment or medium
an inert atmosphere
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Abbreviation: at. atm. a unit of pressure; the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at 0°C at sea level. 1 atmosphere is equivalent to 101 325 newtons per square metre or 14.72 pounds per square inch
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The mixture of gases surrounding the Earth or other celestial body, held in place by gravity. It forms distinct layers at different heights. The Earth's atmosphere consists, in ascending order, of the troposphere (containing 90% of the atmosphere's mass), the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere. The atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) and plays a major role in the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the carbon cycle.
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See more at exosphere mesosphere stratosphere thermosphere troposphere
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A unit of pressure equal to the pressure of the air at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch, or 1,013 millibars.
Discover More
The atmosphere of the Earth is roughly eighty percent nitrogen and twenty percent oxygen, with traces of other gases. (See ionosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere.)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of atmosphere
From the New Latin word atmosphaera, dating back to 1630–40. See atmo-, -sphere
Explanation
An atmosphere is a surrounding environment or influence. If you and your coworkers talk behind each other's backs, you will create a nasty atmosphere at work. Atmosphere was coined by 17th-century scientists combining the Greek words for vapor, atmos, and sphere, sphaira. The earth's atmosphere is the air and gas surrounding our planet. Atmosphere also describes the feeling of a place. A coffee shop might have a cool, artsy atmosphere. Some plants grow best in a damp atmosphere. In physics, atmosphere is a unit of pressure equal to the air pressure at sea level.
Vocabulary lists containing atmosphere
Over The Moon: Planetary Vocabulary
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Physical Geography - Introductory
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Weather and Climate - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
When Julie Masino became Cracker Barrel’s CEO in 2023, she arrived with plans to modernize a restaurant chain known for breakfast, meatloaf, rocking chairs and a homespun atmosphere.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The atmosphere was more akin to a music festival than an antigovernment rally in the middle of a war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But it still cools the atmosphere where it falls, creating strong downdrafts.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
As summer heat settles over the Southwest, it changes the circulation in the atmosphere enough to pull up monsoonal moisture from the Pacific and Gulf of California, fueling warm rain and thunderstorms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Another plus of parachuting experience was that early cosmonauts had to parachute thousands of feet after reentering the Earth's atmosphere.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
The discovery indicates that astronomers may be able to study the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets from the ground by looking for gases escaping into space.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
They sing constantly and have generated the best atmospheres I have encountered in the US.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
With their bold scripts, memorable atmospheres and breathtaking visual landscapes, these films were enough to reinstate some faith in the Hollywood machine.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
The Bournemouth International Centre has been known to produce some famous atmospheres for previous Billam-Smith fights, and it delivered once again.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The weight of how many atmospheres is above me now?
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Eric Ambler led a school during the United Front period of the '30s with wonderfully atmosphered thrillers in which the heroes, or their allies, were Soviet security men.
From Time Magazine Archive
Not after all the other new Earths, freezing cold or methane atmosphered or at best completely waterless.
From The First Day of Spring by Wolf, Mari
Or rather, it left its ghosts behind it, ever shifting forms and shadows, each atmosphered in its own ethereal mood.
From Weighed and Wanting by MacDonald, George
It had atmosphered itself with rich perfume, and something far richer, for three thousand miles.
From Among the Forces by Warren, Henry White
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.
