spherical

adjective

spher·​i·​cal ˈsfir-i-kəl 

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

ˈsfir-i-k(ə-)lē 

ˈsfer-

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.

Synonyms

• global
• globular
• round

Examples of spherical in a Sentence

the planet Earth is not, in fact, perfectly spherical

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing spherical

• spherical aberration
• spherical angle
• spherical coordinate
• spherical geometry
• spherical polygon
• spherical triangle
• spherical trigonometry

Kids Definition

spherical

adjective

spher·​i·​cal ˈsfir-i-kəl 

ˈsfer-

: relating to or having the form of a sphere or part of a sphere

spherically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb