hydrosphere
Americannoun
noun
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All of the Earth's water, including surface water (water in oceans, lakes, and rivers), groundwater (water in soil and beneath the Earth's surface), snowcover, ice, and water in the atmosphere, including water vapor.
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Compare asthenosphere atmosphere lithosphere
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hydrosphere
Explanation
The hydrosphere is the part of a planet that's made of water. Oceans, rivers, lakes, and clouds are all typically included in the hydrosphere. The watery parts of our planet, including vapor that hovers above the Earth's surface and water that's underground, make up its hydrosphere. Most of this water is salty, found in oceans, seas, estuaries, and other salty spots. Some of it is frozen into ice caps and permanent snow cover. Hydrosphere combines the Greek root hydro-, "water," and sphere, "globe, cosmos, or space," from the Greek sphaira, "globe or ball."
Vocabulary lists containing hydrosphere
Elements of the Universe: Hydr, Hydro ("Water")
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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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.
These tiny plastic particles have been detected throughout all major parts of the Earth system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2026
“People have talked about water worlds and thick hydrosphere planets off and on for 20 years,” says Jonathan Fortney, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved in the work.
From Science Magazine ● May 15, 2023
First, the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere are linked.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 6, 2022
Audience members watch as Sagan encounters eccentric characters representing the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, as well as a man trying to find a way to escape the planet through space travel.
From New York Times ● Aug. 10, 2021
As the heat of the interior increased, these gases transpired to the surface and formed the primitive atmosphere and hydrosphere.
From The Elements of Geology by William Harmon Norton
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.
