periphery

noun

pe·​riph·​ery pə-ˈri-f(ə-)rē 

plural peripheries

1

: the perimeter of a circle or other closed curve

also : the perimeter of a polygon

2

: the external boundary or surface of a body

3

a

: the outward bounds of something as distinguished from its internal regions or center : confines

b

: an area lying beyond the strict limits of a thing

Synonyms

• border
• borderline
• bound
• boundary
• brim
• circumference
• compass
• confines
• edge
• edging
• end
• frame
• fringe
• hem
• margin
• perimeter
• rim
• skirt
• skirting
• verge

Examples of periphery in a Sentence

the dogs are confined by an invisible electronic fence that runs along the periphery of the yard

Recent Examples on the Web

Pope Francis lit an evangelical fire in the Church’s conscience over the past decade, preaching about the peripheries, mercy, and care for the poor. —Christopher Hale, Time, 9 May 2025

As Oracle Cloud Infrastructure also gains some traction on the periphery of this space, market watchers will need to start their analysis of cloud repatriation services with Nutanix alongside those public cloud offerings from AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform. —Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025

The artist – who was born in 1917 in England and died in 2011 – was once on the periphery of the surrealist movement. —Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2025

Stan had just been a boy on the periphery: His mother owned the beauty salon that her mother frequented, so Akil would see him there all the time. —Jazmine Hughes, Vulture, 2 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French peripherie, from Late Latin peripheria, from Greek periphereia, from peripherein to carry around, from peri- + pherein to carry — more at bear

First Known Use

circa 1568, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

periphery

noun

pe·​riph·​ery pə-ˈrif-(ə-)rē 

plural peripheries

1

: the boundary or surface of a body or figure

2

: the outer or outermost part

Medical Definition

periphery

noun

pe·​riph·​ery pə-ˈrif-(ə-)rē 

plural peripheries

1

: the outward bounds of something as distinguished from its internal regions or center

2

: the regions (as the sense organs, the muscles, or the viscera) in which nerves terminate