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

"The shutdown ends with a vote and a signature; the aftershocks show up in queues, call centres and cash-flow stress far away from the Capitol dome."

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In Los Angeles County, most residents under the city’s heavy dome of light pollution were likely unaware that the phenomenon was unfolding nearby.

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It normally takes a crane to move the massive dome, which is held down by dozens of oversized bolts.

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There’s been talk of moving it indoors, building a glass dome over it, or even returning it to Egypt.

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The views of the grand buildings around the square, including the colorful onion-shaped domes of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, were impressive.

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