ecosphere
Americannoun
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Also called physiological atmosphere. the part of the atmosphere in which it is possible to breathe normally without aid: the portion of the troposphere from sea level to an altitude of about 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).
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Ecology. the planetary ecosystem, including all the earth's living organisms and their physical environment; biosphere.
noun
Etymology
Origin of ecosphere
Explanation
The ecosphere is the area on and around the earth where life exists. Organisms can only survive outside the ecosphere in an artificially protected environment, like a spaceship. Ecosphere is another word for biosphere — the area around a planet that contains everything that's needed to sustain life. In the case of Earth, that means oxygen and the other elements required for organisms to survive. Astronomers have a somewhat different definition of ecosphere which includes areas where life might potentially exist. The word was coined in the mid-20th century, from eco-, "the environment," and sphere, "space."
Vocabulary lists containing ecosphere
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.
Into this fraught media ecosphere strolled Donald Trump.
From Salon • Oct. 6, 2024
“The first time I ordered something, it was just some T-shirts and jeans, and they came really quickly,” Wang said — invaluable for the fast and furious social media ecosphere.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2024
But as the pandemic wore on and the world started opening up, the pop-up ecosphere started to cool.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 22, 2023
The first book I read about it, some 50 years ago, was “The Closing Circle,” by Barry Commoner, which lays out the damage humans had already done to the ecosphere.
From Washington Post • Aug. 28, 2022
Brill, 28, an advertising copywriter, uses the fundamentals of Frazier’s rhyming to create a manufactured, if plausible, pseudo-Clyde verbal ecosphere.
From New York Times • May 9, 2012
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.
