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• 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.

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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 ).

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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

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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

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sphere Scientific  

/ sfîr /

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spheres
  plural

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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

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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

But our fragmented healthcare system is also a factor in so many of the ills that afflict ordinary American households within the sphere of “affordability.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

“Their impact on the markets will depend largely on potential shifts in fiscal policy—a sphere where the scope for action appears limited, given the already strained debt dynamics and high financing costs,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Young trees were placed on a horizontal platform that rotated around its axis inside a sphere illuminated equally from every direction.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 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

Pythagoras argued that the earth sat at the center of the universe, and the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolved around the earth, each pinned inside a sphere.

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

So we did what you’re “supposed” to do in certain socioeconomic spheres after you’ve gotten married and had a kid: We decided we would make our family an island unto itself.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

"They don't want to have an international order. They want to have big powers with spheres of influence. And this court stands in the way," he said, referring to the ICC.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

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

Canada had the critical minerals needed by France, whose state-backed tech firms were taking early steps into the U.S.-dominated spheres of AI and quantum computing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Dante, unlike the philosophers, took his geography seriously, but no philosopher could have found his abandonment of the fundamental principle that the universe was made out of spheres entirely satisfactory.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The sphered life of the race is in its subjects.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16 by Various

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

To us remain the rocking of the deep, the storm upon the land, days of duty and nights of watching; but thou art sphered high above all darkness and fear, beyond all sorrow and weariness.

From Our American Holidays: Lincoln's Birthday A Comprehensive View of Lincoln as Given in the Most Noteworthy Essays, Orations and Poems, in Fiction and in Lincoln's Own Writings by Robert Haven Schauffler

Yet saw he something in the lives    Of those who'd ceased to live That sphered them with a majesty    Which living failed to give.

From Wessex Poems and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy

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

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Related Words

• circle
• field
• realm
• scope

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