troposphere

noun

tro·​po·​sphere ˈtrō-pə-ˌsfir 

ˈträ-

: the lowest densest part of the earth's atmosphere in which most weather changes occur and temperature generally decreases rapidly with altitude and which extends from the earth's surface to the bottom of the stratosphere at about 7 miles (11 kilometers) high

tropospheric

ˌtrō-pə-ˈsfir-ik 

ˌträ-

-ˈsfer-

adjective

Examples of troposphere in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Global warming refers to the rapid warming of the troposphere globally in time. —Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 May 2024

This occurs when updrafts within a thunderstorm are so intense that air is propelled from the troposphere, the lowest atmospheric layer, into the stratosphere. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Dec. 2014

Because the jet stream is sandwiched between the warm (and getting warmer) troposphere and the cool (and getting cooler) stratosphere, the increasing temperature differential means increasing wind shear. —Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 5 Sep. 2023

The troposphere is the first layer above the Earth that extends 5 to 9 miles above the Earth's surface. —Devika Rao, The Week, 9 June 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French troposphère, from tropo- tropo- (in sense "change," as the troposphere is where weather changes take place) + -sphère -sphere

Note: The term was introduced, along with stratosphère stratosphere, by the French meteorologist Léon Tesserenc de Bort (1855-1913). Tesserenc de Bort apparently first used them in a paper read to a German meteorological society in Hamburg on September 30, 1908 ("La division de l'atmosphère en troposphère et stratosphère d'après les résultats de l'exploration de la haute atmosphère"). The paper was not subsequently published but is briefly summarized by C. Kassner in "Bericht über die elfte allgemeine Versammlung und Feier des 25-jährigen Bestehens der Deutschen Meteorologischen Gesellschaft zu Hamburg am 28. bis 30. September 1908," Meteorologische Zeitschrift, Band 26, Heft 1 (Januar, 1909), p. 6.

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

troposphere

noun

tro·​po·​sphere ˈtrōp-ə-ˌsfi(ə)r  ˈträp- 

: the portion of the atmosphere which extends from the earth's surface to the bottom of the stratosphere and in which temperature generally decreases rapidly with altitude

tropospheric

ˌtrōp-ə-ˈsfi(ə)r-ik 

ˌträp-

-ˈsfer-

adjective