dome

[dohm]

noun

1. Architecture.

   1. a vault, having a circular plan and usually in the form of a portion of a sphere, so constructed as to exert an equal thrust in all directions.

   2. a domical roof or ceiling.

   3. a polygonal vault, ceiling, or roof.

2. any covering thought to resemble the hemispherical vault of a building or room.

   the great dome of the sky.

3. anything shaped like a hemisphere or inverted bowl.

4. (in a dam) a semidome having its convex surface toward the impounded water.

5. Crystallography.,  a form having planes that intersect the vertical axis and are parallel to one of the lateral axes.

6. Geology.,  upwarp.

7. Also called vistadome. Railroads.,  a raised, glass-enclosed section of the roof of a passenger car, placed over an elevated section of seats to afford passengers a full view of scenery.

8. Horology.,  an inner cover for the works of a watch, which snaps into the rim of the case.

9. a mountain peak having a rounded summit.

10. Slang.,  a person's head.

    I wish I could get the idea into that thick dome of yours.

verb (used with object)

domed, doming 

1. to cover with or as if with a dome.

2. to shape like a dome.

verb (used without object)

domed, doming 

1. to rise or swell as a dome.

dome

/ dəʊm, ˈdəʊmɪkəl, ˈdɒm- /

noun

1. a hemispherical roof or vault or a structure of similar form

2. something shaped like this

3. crystallog a crystal form in which two planes intersect along an edge parallel to a lateral axis

4. a slang word for the head

5. geology

   1. a structure in which rock layers slope away in all directions from a central point

   2. another name for pericline

verb

1. to cover with or as if with a dome

2. to shape like a dome

dome

1. A circular or elliptical area of uplifted rock in which the rock dips gently away, in all directions, from a central point.

2. A wedge-shaped mineral crystal that has two nonparallel, similarly inclined faces that intersect along a plane of symmetry.

Other Word Forms

• domelike adjective
• domical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dome¹

1505–15; < Middle French dome < Italian duomo < Medieval Latin domus ( Deī ) house (of God), church; akin to timber

Word History and Origins

Origin of dome¹

C16: from French, from Italian duomo cathedral, from Latin domus house

Example Sentences

Since the end of apartheid, the club has weathered several crises, including a fire in June 2005 that destroyed much of the building, together with a stained-glass dome above the central staircase.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“And it obviously ties so well with their investment in Los Angeles and what they do with the dome right now.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Known most of all for his imposing and magnificent dome on the Florence Cathedral, much of the information surrounding his accomplishments has been speculative and contested.

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The gold-painted dome ceiling has a florid original mural of angels that Trinity Broadcasting founder Paul Crouch called “Orange County’s own Sistine Chapel.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Just like at Tano’s temple, the glyph glows purple and the ship is instantly covered by a wavy purple force field the shape of a dome.

Read more on Literature