periphery

American  

[puh-rif-uh-ree] / pəˈrɪf ə ri /

noun

• peripheries
  plural

1. 

   the external boundary of any surface or area.

   Synonyms:

   perimeter, circumference

   Antonyms:

   center

2. the external surface of a body.

   Antonyms:

   center

3. the edge or outskirts, as of a city or urban area.

4. the relatively minor, irrelevant, or superficial aspects of the subject in question.

   The preliminary research did not, of course, take me beyond the periphery of my problem.

5. Anatomy. the area in which nerves end.

---

periphery British  

/ pəˈrɪfərɪ /

noun

1. the outermost boundary of an area

2. the outside surface of something

3. anatomy the surface or outermost part of the body or one of its organs or parts

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• peripheries
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of periphery

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Late Latin peripherīa, from Greek periphéreia “circumference,” literally, “a bearing round,” from peri- peri- + phér(ein) “to bear” + -eia -y ³; replacing Middle English periferie, from Medieval Latin periferīa, variant spelling of Late Latin peripherīa

---

Explanation

When something is on the periphery of your vision, you can only see it when you’re looking sideways. Periphery means outside the boundary of something. If you’re on the periphery of a group, you’re close to it but not part of it. A band on the periphery of a particular scene might have opened for another band a few times, but it's never headlined or gotten their big break. Periphery comes from a Greek word meaning "to carry around."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

periphery peripheries

A softly-spoken military man whose son was killed during the Gaza War, he has presented himself as coming "from the periphery", not from Israel's wealthy urban elite.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Successive governments neglected Israel's geographic periphery, focusing overwhelmingly on security issues, he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

If humanity doesn’t exist on a binary, perhaps the emphasis shouldn’t always be on trying to see eye to eye; otherwise, no one can take a clear look at what’s happening in the periphery.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Reddit has moved from marketers’ periphery to the core as they try to influence large language models and consumer choices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

I see a flicker of movement in my periphery, and look out the window that faces the apple orchard.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

The return of great-power rivalries, and the perennial challenge of disorder from peripheries beyond government control, has made that task a priority again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

He was a great pope, a really great pope of my era, especially the way he reached out to the peripheries, which reaffirmed the ministry I had of reaching outside of the church.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025

It has seen attacks on its peripheries in recent weeks, but this was the first strike on the settlement itself.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2024

The observatory may even find the hypothetical Planet Nine, a large world that some astronomers believe is hiding at the solar system’s peripheries.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 9, 2024

If peripheries doe either cut or touch one another, they are eccentrickes: And they doe cut one another in two points onely, and these by the touch point doe continue their diameters, 5.

From The Way To Geometry by William Bedwell

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• brink
• fringe
• perimeter
• rim
• verge

---