spherical

adjective

spher·​i·​cal ˈsfir-i-kəl How to pronounce spherical (audio)
ˈsfer-
1
: having the form of a sphere or of one of its segments
2
: relating to or dealing with a sphere or its properties
spherically adverb

Did you know?

Something spherical is like a sphere in being round, or more or less round, in three dimensions. Apples and oranges are both spherical, for example, even though they're never perfectly round. A spheroid has a roughly spherical shape; so an asteroid, for instance, is often spheroidal—fairly round, but lumpy.

Examples of spherical in a Sentence

the planet Earth is not, in fact, perfectly spherical
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The bottle is housed in a custom spherical decanter embellished with peridot, emerald quartzite and 24 carat gold plating created by computational architect Michael Hansmeyer. Alissa Fitzgerald, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024 Scientists describe it as a giant spherical shell around our solar system made of icy, comet-like objects. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024 The entrance delivers an object lesson in undulations, with arched openings, a round Emilia mirror from Soho Home, and a spherical O’Connor chandelier from Visual Comfort. Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar, Architectural Digest, 27 Sep. 2024 Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are, like Earth’s Moon, relatively large, spherical, complex worlds. Mike Sori, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spherical 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of spherical was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near spherical

Cite this Entry

“Spherical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spherical. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

spherical

adjective
spher·​i·​cal ˈsfir-i-kəl How to pronounce spherical (audio)
ˈsfer-
: relating to or having the form of a sphere or part of a sphere
spherically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on spherical

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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