spherical
Americanadjective
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shaped like a sphere
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of or relating to a sphere
spherical geometry
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geometry formed on the surface of or inside a sphere
a spherical triangle
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of or relating to heavenly bodies
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of or relating to the spheres of the Ptolemaic or the Copernican system
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spherical
1515–25; < Late Latin sphēric ( us ) ( see spherics 1) + -al 1
Explanation
A ball is spherical; it's shaped like a sphere — a three-dimensional version of the two-dimensional circle. The ball image is a good one since the word sphere comes from very similar-sounding Greek and Latin words, both of which mean "ball." The word sphere, however, has much broader usage: we use it in to discussing astronomy, our earth, even our social rank (as in "one's sphere of influence"). Spherical, by contrast, has a much more limited use. It basically is a description of shape: if it's spherical, it simply looks like a ball.
Vocabulary lists containing spherical
50 Great Words from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
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2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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Unit 2: Evolution
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Video of another orb says it shows a spherical UAP zooming over the Yellow Sea in 2022.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Its plans at the time were well-documented, with the Walt Disney Co. initially giving Westcot, as it was to be called, a spherical answer to the Florida park’s Spaceship Earth.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
The goal: hit all seven players on the opposing team using perfectly spherical snowballs made with a special machine, or capture their flag.
From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026
However, traditional mathematical models usually assume these particles are perfect spheres because spherical shapes make equations easier to solve.
From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026
Their cosmology developed over time, but was notable for positing a perfectly spherical earth either in the center of the universe, or rotating around an ideal central fire.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
