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

Work is also the focus of Sylvie Harris, who examines the domestic sphere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 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

Unlike the nuclear sphere, where rules have been broadly understood since the Cold War, hybrid warfare escalation is "largely undefined", he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

The pause was met with cautious optimism by some in the AI sphere - though others remained sceptical.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The dwarf jumped free of the explosion, dropping the sphere and letting the pigeons fly.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

"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

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

Public works such as the High Line park over former rail lines and Brooklyn Bridge Park merged the public and private spheres.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

The authorities in Australia are investigating the origins of mysterious large silver spheres that washed up on a beach in northern Queensland this weekend.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Leo had to get the spheres and scrolls safely out of here.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

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

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

His imagination, "nigh sphered in Heaven," claimed kindred only with what he saw from that height, and could raise to the same elevation with itself.

From Lectures on the English Poets Delivered at the Surrey Institution by Alfred Rayney Waller

Some of the Parrot’s recitals have other tales sphered within them, so to say—a plan which must be familiar to all readers of the Arabian Nights.

From Flowers from a Persian Garden and Other Papers by William Alexander Clouston

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

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• circle
• field
• realm
• scope

---