globular
Americanadjective
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globe-shaped; spherical.
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composed of or having globules.
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worldwide; global.
adjective
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shaped like a globe or globule
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having or consisting of globules
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of globular
Explanation
Something that's globular is round or spherical, like the big, globular heads your little brother adds when he's molding little people out of clay. Globular, "globe-shaped," comes from the Latin globus, "round mass or sphere." This adjective shows up a lot in scientific writing, including to describe a rounded mass of stars bound together by gravity — a globular cluster, or in astronomy shorthand, a globular. Strictly speaking, anything that's round is globular, from a tennis ball to the moon.
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.
Demonstrating that globular cluster stellar streams can be studied beyond the Milky Way could allow astronomers to investigate dark matter in many different types of galaxies.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
The researchers also show for the first time that globular cluster stellar streams can be used to measure dark matter in galaxies outside the Milky Way.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
The cluster contains two distinct populations of stars, raising the possibility that it formed when two globular clusters merged into one.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Astronomers have identified around 150 globular clusters orbiting the outskirts of our galaxy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Not far outside the Galaxy there are almost certainly planets, orbiting stars in the Magellanic Clouds and in the globular clusters that surround the Milky Way.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
