globe

[glohb]

noun

1. Usually the globe the planet Earth.

2. a planet or other celestial body.

3. a sphere on which is depicted a map of the earth terrestrial globe or of the heavens celestial globe.

4. a spherical body; sphere.

5. anything more or less spherical, as a lampshade or a glass fishbowl.

6. a golden ball traditionally borne as an emblem of sovereignty; orb.

verb (used with object)

globed, globing 

1. to form into a globe.

verb (used without object)

globed, globing 

1. to take the form of a globe.

globe

/ ɡləʊb /

noun

1. a sphere on which a map of the world or the heavens is drawn or represented

2. the world; the earth

3. a planet or some other astronomical body

4. an object shaped like a sphere, such as a glass lampshade or fish-bowl

5. an electric light bulb

6. an orb, usually of gold, symbolic of authority or sovereignty

verb

1. to form or cause to form into a globe

Other Word Forms

• globelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of globe¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French globe, from Latin globus “round body, ball, sphere”

Word History and Origins

Origin of globe¹

C16: from Old French, from Latin globus

Synonym Study

See earth.

Example Sentences

Penelope gave a slow spin to the makeshift globe she had fashioned out of a roundish potato and a long birch twig that had been whittled to a point.

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“Tigers? What nonsense. Go back to your books and globes and whatnots, what? The attic is no place for singing.”

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The pack she carried on her back was heavy enough, but even so, she wished she had not been so quick to leave the globe and abacus back at the nursery.

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The unveiling of the STM and the planned demo, scheduled to take place later this year, has ignited fervor across the globe.

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But every day, conservation scientists and experts and volunteers around the globe desperately work to save thousands of vulnerable and endangered species.

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Related Words

• map 
• planet 
• world 

When To Use

What does globe mean?

The word globe most generally refers to a sphere—a ball-like shape or object. Something globe-shaped can be described as globular, which means the same thing as spherical.More specifically, a globe is a three-dimensional model of Earth. (There are also globes representing the moon and other planets, but globes of Earth are most common.) These kinds of globes are associated with their use in classrooms for the subject of geography.The phrase the globe is another way of saying the world or the planet in reference to Earth, as in His name was known in almost every corner of the globe. Example: I started my travels around the globe by spinning a globe and pointing to a random destination.