atmosphere - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• 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)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈætməsˌfɪɹ/

atmosphere (countable and uncountable, plural atmospheres)

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

   Meronyms: see Thesaurus:atmosphere

   Coordinate terms: hydrosphere, biosphere

4. 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; […].

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

   Synonyms: air, ambiance

8. (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

10. A unit of measurement for pressure equal to 101325 Pa (symbol: atm), approximately the atmospheric pressure at sea level.

• atmospheric
• atmospherics

• ambiance, ambience
• mood