sphere AC /sfɪə $ sfɪr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sphere ; adjective : ↑ spherical ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: espere , from Latin sphaera , from Greek sphaira 'ball, sphere' ]
1 . a ball shape
2 . a particular area of activity, work, knowledge etc
in the ... sphere
television’s increasing role in the political sphere
public/private sphere
Women have often been excluded from positions of power in the public sphere.
3 . sb’s/sth’s sphere of influence a person’s, country’s, organization’s etc sphere of influence is the area where they have power to change things
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ the public sphere (=public positions and activities)
Men still controlled the public sphere.
▪ the private sphere
After the war, women refused to return quietly to the private sphere.
▪ the political sphere
Unions became more active in the political sphere.
▪ the economic sphere
Will the reform programme be extended beyond the economic sphere?
▪ the domestic sphere
More women started to be trained for tasks outside the domestic sphere.
▪ the social sphere
The following chapter considers the influence of factors in the wider social sphere.
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THESAURUS
■ types of shapes
▪ square a shape with four straight sides that are equal in length and four angles of 90 degrees
▪ circle a round shape that is like an O
▪ semicircle half a circle
▪ triangle a shape with three straight sides and three angles
▪ rectangle a shape with four straight sides and four angles of 90 degrees
▪ oval a shape like a circle, but that is longer than it is wide
▪ cylinder an object in the shape of a tube
▪ cube a solid object with six equal square sides
▪ pyramid a shape with a square base and four triangular sides that meet in a point at the top
▪ sphere a shape like a ball