physical environment

American  

[fiz-i-kuhl-en-vahy-ruhn-muhnt] / ˈfɪz ɪ kəl ɛnˈvaɪ rən mənt /

noun

physical environments plural

1. the parts of the environment that are tangible and primarily natural, though they may be influenced by human action (climate, geographical features, weather systems, etc.).

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• physical environments
  plural

Example Sentences

The problem is in the qubits, whose quantum states are particularly sensitive to changes in the physical environment, meaning anything from electromagnetic fields to heat.

From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025

It looked at living conditions using eight different indicators including income, employment, health, education, access to services, housing, community safety and the physical environment.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025

Spatial cognition, the ability of humans to perceive and navigate our physical environment, is a fundamental set of brain-based skills.

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023

Regardless, it's clear that something in the social or physical environment is reshaping the development of today's girls — and it seems to have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

From Salon • Aug. 4, 2023

Even as archaeologists try to work out how the area’s first inhabitants reshaped their physical environment, other scientists are beginning to trace out their impacts in its genetic heritage.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann