tropopause

[ trop-uh-pawz, troh-puh- ]

/ ˈtrɒp əˌpɔz, ˈtroʊ pə- /

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noun Meteorology.

the boundary, or transitional layer, between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

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Origin of tropopause

First recorded in 1915–20; tropo- + pause

Words nearby tropopause

tropism, tropo-, tropology, troponin, troponin I, tropopause, tropophilous, tropophyte, troposphere, tropospheric scatter, tropotaxis

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

How to use tropopause in a sentence

The upper boundary of the troposphere — known as the tropopause — naturally rises and falls with the seasons.
Climate change is upping the height of Earth’s lower atmosphere|Freda Kreier|January 3, 2022|Science News For Students
Liu is part of a team that found this tropopause has risen an average of about 200 meters between 1980 and 2020.
Climate change is upping the height of Earth’s lower atmosphere|Freda Kreier|January 3, 2022|Science News For Students
Ascending air within the plume rose so rapidly that it recoiled upon hitting the tropopause, or the lower edge of the stratosphere, above which it’s extremely difficult for surface parcels of air to rise.
Satellites capture dozens of explosive eruptions from La Soufrière volcano on St. Vincent island|Matthew Cappucci|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
The boundary between the troposphere and the next layer up is known as the tropopause.
Explainer: Our atmosphere — layer by layer|Beth Geiger|December 1, 2020|Science News For Students

British Dictionary definitions for tropopause

tropopause

/ (ˈtrɒpəˌpɔːz) /

noun

meteorol the plane of discontinuity between the troposphere and the stratosphere, characterized by a sharp change in the lapse rate and varying in altitude from about 18 km (11 miles) above the equator to 6 km (4 miles) at the Poles

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 tropopause

tropopause

[ trō′pə-pôz′, trŏp′ə- ]

The boundary between the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere, varying in altitude from about 8 km (5 mi) at the poles to 18 km (11 mi) at the equator.