hemisphere

[ hem-i-sfeer ]
See synonyms for hemisphere on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (often initial capital letter) half of the terrestrial globe or celestial sphere, especially one of the halves into which the earth is divided.: Compare Eastern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere.

  2. a map or projection representing one of these halves.

  1. a half of a sphere.

  2. Anatomy. either of the lateral halves of the cerebrum or cerebellum.

  3. the area within which something occurs or dominates; sphere; realm.

Origin of hemisphere

1
1325–75; <Latin hēmisphaerium<Greek hēmisphaírion; replacing Middle English emysperie<Old French emispere<Latin

Words Nearby hemisphere

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hemisphere in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hemisphere

hemisphere

/ (ˈhɛmɪˌsfɪə) /


noun
  1. one half of a sphere

    • half of the terrestrial globe, divided into northern and southern hemispheres by the equator or into eastern and western hemispheres by some meridians, usually 0° and 180°

    • a map or projection of one of the hemispheres

  1. either of the two halves of the celestial sphere that lie north or south of the celestial equator

  2. anatomy short for cerebral hemisphere

Derived forms of hemisphere

  • hemispheric (ˌhɛmɪˈsfɛrɪk) or hemispherical, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for hemisphere

hemisphere

[ hĕmĭ-sfîr′ ]


  1. One half of a sphere, formed by a plane that passes through the center of the sphere.

  2. Either the northern or southern half of the Earth as divided by the equator, or the eastern or western half as divided by a meridian, especially the prime meridian.

  1. One half of the celestial sphere as divided by any of various great circles, especially the celestial equator and the ecliptic. See more at celestial sphere.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for hemisphere

hemisphere

Any half of the Earth's surface.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.