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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• peripheries
  plural

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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

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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

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

European car companies have increasingly been pushed to the periphery.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Most likely, the Dodgers’ deadline moves will be around the periphery.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The warm-up band, Queens of the Stone Age, already had the crowd jumping by the time Fang and I shoved our way to the periphery of the mosh pit.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Those immediately guarding the president seem to be hardy and quick, but the peripheries of such events are a continuing problem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

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

Through eons of time, and the mutations brought by time, awareness of self and surroundings grew into awareness of wider peripheries, to sensing their world, its structure, its nature.

From Eight Keys to Eden by Mark Clifton

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Related Words

• brink
• fringe
• perimeter
• rim
• verge

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