biosphere

American  

[bahy-uh-sfeer] / ˈbaɪ əˌsfɪər /

noun

• biospheres
  plural

1. 

   the part of the earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere that supports life.

2. the ecosystem comprising the entire earth and the living organisms that inhabit it.

---

biosphere British  

/ ˈbaɪəˌsfɪə /

noun

1. the part of the earth's surface and atmosphere inhabited by living things

---

biosphere Scientific  

/ bī′ə-sfîr′ /

1. 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.

2. All the Earth's ecosystems considered as a single, self-sustaining unit.

---

biosphere Cultural  

1. The thin outer shell of the Earth and the inner layers of its atmosphere; the place where all living systems are found.

---

Synonym Usage

See ecosystem ( def. ).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• biospheric
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• biospheres
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of biosphere

First recorded in 1895–1900; from German Biosphäre; see bio-, -sphere

---

Explanation

A biosphere is a place where organisms live. You wouldn't want to travel beyond the earth's biosphere, unless of course you are an astronaut. From the Greek bios, "life," and sphaira, "sphere," biosphere came into English use in the 19th century. It means the life that occurs within a certain sphere or region around a planet. If you're reading this from Mars you probably have a biosphere all your own. You and other living things on Earth need oxygen and other substances to survive, and the biosphere fulfills those needs.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

biosphere biospheres

The charity said it had been a recurring problem in the town since 2022, which "makes a mockery of our biosphere status and gives a terrible impression of our island's attitude towards wildlife".

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers new understanding of Earth's earliest biosphere.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2025

The apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump sent shock waves through the geo-political biosphere, as U.S. leaders chimed in to condemn the attack.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2024

In contrast, land habitats make up less than 1 percent of the planet’s biosphere because the band of life is so narrow, making its volume quite small.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2024

The emergence of aids, Ebola, and any number of other rain-forest agents appears to be a natural consequence of the ruin of the tropical biosphere.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

With more than 250,000 known species, nematodes comprise the world's most abundant animal phylum in both aquatic and terrestrial biospheres.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024

Maine’s messy dilemma reflects how climate change is transforming biospheres the world over by expanding the northward range of parasites.

From Reuters ● Oct. 28, 2022

We are doing what bacteria do, heating the climate system with our waste, while also driving mass extinction by destroying local biospheres and filling the liquid parts of our planet with plastics.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 19, 2019

Even if plants do succeed in adapting to climate change by changing their location or schedule, they’re not alone in their biospheres.

From Slate ● Dec. 13, 2019

We need to understand that we might not be able to detect biospheres even if they exist.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• cave
• dwelling
• environment
• haven
• nest
• surroundings
• terrain
• territory

---