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.
The pop culture phenomena that started an empire is coming to Inglewood’s Cosm, home to a high-definition spherical screen that wraps around audiences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
They have spherical white heads and dark visors, similar to a motorcycle helmet, and sport black shawls around their neck in the style of a dupatta worn by women in the region.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
Their solution was to confine a continuous laser beam inside a spherical chamber lined with mirrors.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
But the effort to ensure that they once again rise, fall and spin around a spherical base has begun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The sun, in Anaximander’s view, was not a spherical body, but a world-girdling wheel of fire; the bright orb we see in the sky is just a hole through which we glimpse the conflagration beyond.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
