sphere

[ sfeer ]

/ sfɪər /

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See synonyms for: sphere / spheres on Thesaurus.com

noun

Geometry.

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: x2 + y2 + z2 = r2.
the surface of such a figure; a spherical surface.

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

Astronomy.

a planet or star; heavenly body.
celestial sphere.
any of the transparent, concentric, spherical shells, or layers, in which, according to ancient belief, the planets, stars, and other heavenly bodies were set.

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.

a particular social world, stratum of society, or walk of life: His social sphere is small.

a field of something specified: a sphere of knowledge.

verb (used with object), sphered, spher·ing.

to enclose in or as if in a sphere.

to form into a sphere.

to place among the heavenly spheres.

OTHER WORDS FOR sphere

4 orbit, area, province, compass, realm, domain.

5 class, rank.

See synonyms for sphere on Thesaurus.com

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM sphere

sphereless, adjectivespherelike, adjectivesubsphere, nounun·spher·ing, adjective

Words nearby sphere

sphenoid, sphenoid bone, sphenopsid, spher-, spheral, sphere, sphere of influence, spherical, spherical aberration, spherical angle, spherical astronomy

Other definitions for sphere (2 of 2)

-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).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sphere in a sentence

If you can’t find some peaceful and harmonious accommodation with the news industry — and by extension the political sphere — things start getting really, very, uncomfortable.
‘We’re getting more used to the uncertainty’: BBC Global News chief on ad-funded news|Lucinda Southern|September 10, 2020|Digiday
Though connected to the waterfront by a wooden gangway and to a nearby shopping mall by an underground tunnel, the sphere appears to bob in the marina like, well, an apple.
Apple’s ‘most ambitious’ new store is a departure from its signature design|claychandler|September 8, 2020|Fortune
They don’t form spheres and aren’t big enough to keep other objects out of their way.
Scientists Say: Asteroid, meteor and meteorite|Bethany Brookshire|September 7, 2020|Science News For Students
Rather, the blob is self-contained, a roiling, lumpy sphere that leaves the water around it mostly still.
An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence|David H. Freedman|September 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine

If he can get that feeling going that people feel safe and secure in their own economic sphere, then he’s going to be in good shape.
Full Transcript: Sean Spicer on ‘The Carlos Watson Show’|Daniel Malloy|August 26, 2020|Ozy
The digital dating sphere can prove tricky, and bruising, for the trans user.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This may be precisely the point: that fiction at its best is a sphere of suspended belief as much as suspended disbelief.
The Birth of the Novel|Nick Romeo|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In almost every sphere of life, the trend is to trade in ownership for access.
How Young People Are Destroying Liberty|James Poulos|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At that point, a sphere lit up, resembling the landing of the UFO in E.T., and the overheard lights descended on the stage.
I'm Not Country or Pop. I'm Just Pure Garth Brooks.|David Masciotra|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Why tolerate toxicity in a powerful sphere of modern life that has the potential to—and does—benefit so many?
Zelda Williams Is the Latest to Leave Twitter Because of Ugly Attacks|Tauriq Moosa|August 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If ever the fusion of two human beings into one has been accomplished on this sphere it was surely in their union.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The belated moon stole up from its lair, hovered above the sky-line, a gaudy orange sphere in the haze of smoke.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
But in 1811 he was recalled to Paris to receive orders before starting on a new sphere of duty.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Hence in the house, the sphere of the Genius is no longer the hearth but the marriage-bed (lectus genialis).
The Religion of Ancient Rome|Cyril Bailey
Second, geology, which takes account of all those actions which in process of time have been developed in our own sphere.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for sphere (1 of 2)

sphere

/ (sfɪə) /

noun

maths

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

any object having approximately this shape; globe

the night sky considered as a vaulted roof; firmament

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

(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)

particular field of activity; environmentthat's out of my sphere

a social class or stratum of society

verb (tr) mainly poetic

to surround or encircle

to place aloft or in the heavens

Word Origin for sphere

C14: from Late Latin sphēra, from Latin sphaera globe, from Greek sphaira

British Dictionary definitions for sphere (2 of 2)

-sphere

n combining form

having the shape or form of a spherebathysphere

indicating a spherelike enveloping massatmosphere

Derived forms of -sphere

-spheric, adj combining form

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for sphere

sphere

[ sfîr ]

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

sphere

OTHER WORDS FOR sphere

Origin of sphere

OTHER WORDS FROM sphere

Words nearby sphere

Other definitions for sphere (2 of 2)

Words related to sphere

How to use sphere in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sphere (1 of 2)

Word Origin for sphere

British Dictionary definitions for sphere (2 of 2)

Derived forms of -sphere

Scientific definitions for sphere