firmament

noun

fir·​ma·​ment ˈfər-mə-mənt 

1

: the vault or arch of the sky : heavens

Stars twinkled in the firmament.

2

obsolete : basis

3

: the field or sphere of an interest or activity

the international fashion firmament

She's a rising star in the city's artistic firmament.

firmamental

ˌfər-mə-ˈmen-tᵊl 

adjective

Synonyms

• blue
• heaven(s)
• high
• sky
• welkin

Examples of firmament in a Sentence

meteors flashing across the firmament

the stars in the firmament twinkled ever so brightly

Recent Examples on the Web

To much of the pop firmament, this might seem like a ho-hum event, one more online drop indistinguishable from all the others. —Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024

Volvo occupies a unique spot in the luxury firmament: Advanced and prestigious, yet almost ostentatiously modest. —Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 25 Nov. 2024

Fermi had been an integral part of the Italian scientific firmament in the 1920s and the 1930s. —Rosario A. Iaconis, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2024

Shirley MacLaine, a longtime star in the movie-world firmament, opens up her personal photo gallery to the world. —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin firmamentum, from Latin, support, from firmare

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

firmament

noun

fir·​ma·​ment ˈfər-mə-mənt 

: the arch of the sky : heavens