geosphere
Americannoun
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the earth, especially the rocky part of the earth, as opposed to its surface water or hydrosphere, its ecological systems or biosphere, or the gaseous atmosphere surrounding it.
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the earth as a system in its entirety, including not only its solid portion but also the hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Explanation
The geosphere is the scientific name for the solid parts of a planet. When you go for a hike, you can think of the ground beneath your feet as part of the Earth's geosphere. In Earth science or geoscience, the geosphere refers to the parts of our planet that are solid (like the mantle and crust). The liquid and gaseous parts are called the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Geosphere, coined in the late 19th century, was modeled after atmosphere, with the Greek prefix geo-, "earth."
Vocabulary lists containing geosphere
Global Climate Change - Introductory
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Ecology - Matter and Energy Flow in Ecosystems- Introductory
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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.
First, the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere are linked.
From Scientific American • Jul. 6, 2022
Planets, meanwhile, are immensely complex economies of energy and matter that cycle between vast reservoirs in the oceans and atmosphere, the cryosphere, geosphere and biosphere.
From The Guardian • May 26, 2019
The geosphere includes the rocks, continents, ocean floor, and the interior of the planet.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018
Soil is a combination of air, water, minerals, and organic matter that forms at the transition between the biosphere and geosphere.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017
We were posing in front of the Spaceship Earth geosphere at Epcot for my thirteenth birthday.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
