Jump To:

• sphere
  sphere
• -sphere
  -sphere

  a combining form of sphere (planisphere ); having a special use in the names of the layers of gases and the like surrounding the earth and other celestial bodies (ionosphere ).

sphere

¹ American  

[sfeer] / sfɪər /

noun

• spheres
  plural

1. Geometry.

   1. a solid geometric figure generated by the revolution of a semicircle about its diameter; a round body whose surface is at all points equidistant from the center. Equation: x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = r 2 .

   2. the surface of such a figure; a spherical surface.

2. any rounded body approximately of this form; a globular mass, shell, etc.

3. Astronomy.

   1. a planet or star; heavenly body.

   2. celestial sphere.

   3. any of the transparent, concentric, spherical shells, or layers, in which, according to ancient belief, the planets, stars, and other heavenly bodies were set.

4. the place or environment within which a person or thing exists; a field of activity or operation.

   to be out of one's professional sphere.

   Synonyms:

   domain, realm, compass, province, area, orbit

5. a particular social world, stratum of society, or walk of life.

   His social sphere is small.

   Synonyms:

   rank, class

6. a field of something specified.

   a sphere of knowledge.

---

verb (used with object)

sphered, sphering

1. to enclose in or as if in a sphere.

2. to form into a sphere.

3. to place among the heavenly spheres.

-sphere ² American  

1. a combining form of sphere (planisphere ); having a special use in the names of the layers of gases and the like surrounding the earth and other celestial bodies (ionosphere ).

---

sphere ¹ British  

/ sfɪə /

noun

1. maths

   1. a three-dimensional closed surface such that every point on the surface is equidistant from a given point, the centre

   2. the solid figure bounded by this surface or the space enclosed by it. Equation: ( x–a )² + ( y–b )² + ( z–c )² = r ², where r is the radius and ( a, b, c ) are the coordinates of the centre; surface area: 4π r ²; volume: 4π r ³/3

2. any object having approximately this shape; globe

3. the night sky considered as a vaulted roof; firmament

4. any heavenly object such as a planet, natural satellite, or star

5. (in the Ptolemaic or Copernican systems of astronomy) one of a series of revolving hollow globes, arranged concentrically, on whose transparent surfaces the sun (or in the Copernican system the earth), the moon, the planets, and fixed stars were thought to be set, revolving around the earth (or in the Copernican system the sun)

6. particular field of activity; environment

   that's out of my sphere

7. a social class or stratum of society

---

verb

1. to surround or encircle

2. to place aloft or in the heavens

-sphere ² British  

combining form

1. having the shape or form of a sphere

   bathysphere

2. indicating a spherelike enveloping mass

   atmosphere

---

sphere Scientific  

/ sfîr /

1. A three-dimensional geometric surface having all of its points the same distance from a given point.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subsphere
  noun
• sphereless
  adjective
• spherelike
  adjective
• unsphering
  adjective
• -spheric
  combining form

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spheres
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sphere

1250–1300; < Late Latin sphēra, Latin sphaera globe < Greek sphaîra ball; replacing Middle English spere < Old French spere < Late Latin spēra, variant of sphēra

Explanation

Marbles, oranges, bubbles, and beach balls — all of these objects illustrate the shape of a sphere, or globe (unless the beach balls are under-inflated, in which case they’re sort-of a “squished-sphere” shape). Sphere is often used metaphorically to refer to a particular aspect or area of something. For example, unless you’re a trained circus performer, tightrope walking and fire swallowing probably lie outside of your sphere of expertise. Sphere frequently occurs in the phrase “sphere of influence,” which designates the geographical area over which a person, organization, or nation has control. In many households, whoever is in charge of the cooking controls the kitchen; so, the kitchen falls within his or her sphere of influence.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sphere spheres sphered sphering

"Both underlined the growing need to ensure the safety and well-being of children in the rapidly evolving digital sphere," Metsola's office said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

Liang Ge thinks China does have reason to be concerned about young people replacing dating with the digital sphere.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

It turns out that it’s difficult to squish a sphere into a flat rectangle without some disfigurement, but the Mercator errors have finally led to pushback.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

While European liquidity broadly follows American trends, there is one sphere in which the liquidity cycle differs markedly: China, which is also travelling in the opposite direction, according to Howell.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Or was the outermost sphere the end of the universe?

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Chondrules are small rocky spheres found inside chondrites, which are among the most primitive meteorites preserved in geological collections.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

In Kanazawa, workers dressed in full-body overalls haul large blocks of ice across the factory floor, before starting on the delicate work of carving perfect spheres, cubes and rectangular blocks with cut corners.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

The Nazi regime held a tight grip over all spheres of Germany's cultural life, most notably displaying works it deemed unacceptable at the "Degenerate Art Exhibition" in 1937.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

But for the most part, the tension was at least somewhat manageable, and both carried on in their own spheres.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

Leo scanned the workshop, now littered with smoking pieces of broken spheres.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Now Amidon's eyes sought hers again, and held there; and the twin worlds, sphered in some slowly-turning orbit, seemed swinging in their native space.

From Double Trouble Or, Every Hero His Own Villain by Orson Lowell

Coolest quiet sphered the whole figure; not a suggestion of anything but slowest calm grace disturbed its repose.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol 6, No 5, November 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various

The massy earth and sphered skies are riven!

From Percy Bysshe Shelley by John Addington Symonds

Its foliage was as fine as hair, apparently, and its mass sphered itself above the naked straight stem like an explosion of misty smoke.

From Following the Equator, Part 2 by Mark Twain

That so august a spirit, sphered so fair, Should from the starry sessions of his peers, Decline to quench so bright a brilliancy In hell’s sick spume.

From St. Winifred's, or The World of School by H. C. (Harold C.) Earnshaw

I stick my head into the workshop and say hello to Ben Morling, founder and MD of both branches, who got into the Segway business after some success with a sphering, or zorbing, company.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 31, 2015

Greater than the sphering sea,  For it holds the sea and land; Seed of all ideas to be  Down its current borne like sand.

From An Anthology of Australian Verse by Bertram Stevens

Related Words

• circle
• field
• realm
• scope