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biosphere

American  
[bahy-uh-sfeer] / ˈbaɪ əˌsfɪər /

noun

  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

"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
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.

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 • Nov. 18, 2025

Various forms of evidence suggest that the biosphere was more productive during the Miocene compared to now, and that at higher latitudes, this effect was more pronounced.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025

"We must protect our biosphere - it is not a zero-sum game," he added, pointing to a recent report by the Office for National Statistics that valued UK ecosystems at £1.8tn.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 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

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.