lithosphere

American  

[lith-uh-sfeer] / ˈlɪθ əˌsfɪər /

noun

Geology.

1. the solid portion of the earth (atmosphere,hydrosphere ).

2. the crust and upper mantle of the earth.

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lithosphere British  

/ ˈlɪθəˌsfɪə /

noun

1. the rigid outer layer of the earth, having an average thickness of about 75 km and comprising the earth's crust and the solid part of the mantle above the asthenosphere

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lithosphere Scientific  

/ lĭth′ə-sfîr′ /

1. The outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle. It is about 55 km (34 mi) thick beneath the oceans and up to about 200 km (124 mi) thick beneath the continents. The high velocity with which seismic waves propagate through the lithosphere suggests that it is completely solid.

2. Compare asthenosphere atmosphere hydrosphere

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lithosphere Cultural  

1. The outer layer of the Earth, comprising the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The lithosphere is about sixty miles thick.

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Usage

What is the lithosphere? The lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth’s surface. It is rugged, dense, and mostly made out of solid rock. Generally speaking, Earth is made of a really hot core and layers of rock that get colder the farther you move from the center. The lithosphere is the farthest layer from the core and so is the coldest, made of mostly solid rock. The lithosphere consists of the crust, the actual surface of Earth that we walk on, and the upper part of the mantle, the rocky majority of the inner Earth between the core and the crust. The lithosphere averages about 75 km in thickness, depending on age. The lithosphere sits on top of the weaker, denser asthenosphere and slowly floats on top of it. The lithosphere is broken into solid chunks, known as plates, that drift on top of the asthenosphere and move a few inches every year. Sometimes, the plates of the lithosphere collide, break, or rub into each other, which is known as plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is responsible for earthquakes, volcanoes, and a variety of other geologic events.

Other Word Forms

• lithospheric adjective

Etymology

Origin of lithosphere

First recorded in 1885–90; litho- + -sphere

Compare meaning

How does lithosphere compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• lithosphere vs. asthenosphere

Explanation

The lithosphere includes the Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. The lithosphere's thickness varies depending on whether you measure the thin new crust on the ocean floor or the old crust of an established land mass. The Earth's lithosphere is broken into continental plates that move over time. Slight movements in the lithosphere can cause earthquakes when the plates bump against each other. "Litho" is from the Greek word lithos, meaning stone. "Sphere" is from the Greek word sphaira, meaning globe or ball. The solid outer crust of any celestial body can also be called the lithosphere. Scientists use robots to examine the lithosphere on Mars.

Example Sentences

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

Fault lines are the visible boundaries on the planet's surface where the rigid plates that make up the Earth's lithosphere brush against each another.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

The Earth's outermost layer, the lithosphere, is made up of plates of rock that are cracked like puzzle pieces.

From Salon • Feb. 9, 2023

Figure 10.29 The ridge-push/slab-pull model for plate motion, in which the lithosphere is the upper surface of the convective systems.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

To say that the lithosphere floats on top of the asthenosphere suggests a degree of easy buoyancy that isn’t quite right.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson