Biosphere
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The part of the Earth and its atmosphere capable of supporting life.
- 2 the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist wordnet
- 3 The totality of living organisms and their environment.
"Patavig is the second of the Macedon system's giant terrestrial planets, and by far the more interesting. Most of the surface is covered by a vast sea of liquid ammonia, in which a unique aquatic ammonia-based biosphere has developed. While the frozen continents are largely bereft of life, a rich bounty of complex organisms — many larger than a human — flourish in the chilly, toxic seas."
Example
More examples"The levels of organization in Biology can be arranged in the following order: atom, molecule, organelle, cell, tissue, organ, system, organism, population, community, ecosystem and biosphere."
Etymology
Borrowed from German Biosphäre, coined by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. By surface analysis, bio- + -sphere.
More for "biosphere"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.