atmosphere

• atmosphære (archaic)

From French atmosphère, from New Latin atmosphaera, from Ancient Greek ἀτμός (atmós, “steam”) + σφαῖρα (sphaîra, “sphere”); corresponding to atmo- +‎ -sphere.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæt.məsˌfɪə(ɹ)/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈætməsˌfɪɹ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

atmosphere (countable and uncountable, plural atmospheres)

1. The gases surrounding the Earth or any astronomical body.

   Meronyms: see Thesaurus:atmosphere

   Coordinate terms: hydrosphere, biosphere

2. The air in a particular place.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 2:

     The last hue of crimson had died away in the west, and the depth of the rich purple atmosphere was unbroken.

   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:

     Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].

3. (figuratively) The conditions (such as music, illumination etc.) that can influence the mood felt in an environment.

   Synonyms: air, ambiance

4. (figuratively) The apparent mood felt in an environment.

   Synonyms: feeling, mood

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XX, page 33:

     For by the hearth the children sit
     ⁠Cold in that atmosphere of Death,
     ⁠And scarce endure to draw the breath,
     Or like to noiseless phantoms flit: […]

   • 1984, Ben Findon, Eddie Tucker, Steve Rodway (lyrics and music), “Atmosphere”, in I Love a Party, performed by Russ Abbot:

     Oh, what an atmosphere / I love a party with a happy atmosphere

5. A unit of measurement for pressure equal to 101325 Pa (symbol: atm), approximately the atmospheric pressure at sea level.
6. (television, film, uncountable) Extras in a scene who have no spoken lines.
   • 2006, Los Angeles Magazine, volume 51, number 2, page 100:

     Central Casting is in the business of extras, also known as atmosphere or background actors […]

   • 2013, Kerry Segrave, Extras of Early Hollywood: A History of the Crowd, 1913-1945, page 38:

     "It is estimated conservatively that there are some 50,000 would-be film extras in and around the celluloid capital, persons who would jump at the opportunity to appear as atmosphere in pictures," Scott concluded.

   • 2015, William R. Phillippe, The Pastor's Diary:

     By the way, I discovered that we were not extras but background, as far as the director was concerned; and for the producer, we were atmosphere.

• atmospheric
• atmospherics

• ambiance, ambience
• mood