noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈbaɪəʊˌsfɪə(ɹ)/
UK:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B AY1 OW0 S F IH2 R
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The part of the Earth and its atmosphere capable of supporting life.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The totality of living organisms and their environment.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: region, part
History
Etymology
Borrowed from German Biosphäre, coined by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. By surface analysis, bio- + -sphere.
Across languages
Translations
45 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
biosferë
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Armenian:
կենսոլորտ
(kensolort)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Belarusian:
біясфера
(bijasfjera)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Catalan:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Chinese Mandarin:
生物圈
(shēngwùquān)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Czech:
biosféra
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Dutch:
biosfeer
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Estonian:
elukond
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Estonian:
biosfäär
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Finnish:
biosfääri
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Finnish:
elonkehä
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
French:
biosphère
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Georgian:
ბიოსფერო
(biospero)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
German:
Biosphäre
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Greek:
βιόσφαιρα
(viósfaira)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Hebrew:
ביוספרה
(biosféra)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Hindi:
जीवमंडल
(jīvmaṇḍal)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Hungarian:
bioszféra
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Indonesian:
biosfer
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Italian:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Japanese:
生物圏
(seibutsuken)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Kazakh:
биосфера
(biosfera)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Korean:
생물권
(saengmulgwon)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Central Kurdish:
ژینگۆ
(jîngo)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Latin:
biosphaera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Malay:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Malayalam:
ജൈവമണ്ഡലം
(jaivamaṇḍalaṁ)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Māori:
ao rauropi
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Norwegian Bokmål:
biosfære
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Norwegian Nynorsk:
biosfære
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Occitan:
biosfèra
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Persian:
زیستکره
(zist-kore)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Persian:
زیستسپهر
(zist-sepehr)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Polish:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Portuguese:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Russian:
биосфе́ра
(biosféra)
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Slovene:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Spanish:
biosfera
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Swedish:
biosfär
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Tagalog:
haybulog
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Vietnamese:
sinh quyển
— part of Earth capable of supporting life
Estonian:
elukond
— totality of living organisms
Finnish:
biosfääri
— totality of living organisms
Greek:
βιόσφαιρα
(viósfaira)
— totality of living organisms
Hindi:
जीवमंडल
(jīvmaṇḍal)
— totality of living organisms
