spherical
adjective
spher·i·cal
ˈsfir-i-kəl 
ˈsfer-
1
: having the form of a sphere or of one of its segments
2
: relating to or dealing with a sphere or its properties
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Something spherical is like a sphere in being round, or more or less round, in three dimensions. Apples and oranges are both spherical, for example, even though they're never perfectly round. A spheroid has a roughly spherical shape; so an asteroid, for instance, is often spheroidal—fairly round, but lumpy.
Examples of spherical in a Sentence
the planet Earth is not, in fact, perfectly spherical
Recent Examples on the Web
Covered with tentacles, shaped like rods, perfectly spherical?
—
Veronique Greenwood, Quanta Magazine, 8 Sep. 2025
The researchers used perfectly spherical silica particles just 200 nanometers wide, essentially superfine sand, to achieve the effect.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
Bazaar Meat then became known for colossal steaks and suckling pigs while also showcasing whimsical dishes like spherical olives and beefsteak tomato tartare that are obviously nods to the time Andrés spent cooking at Ferran Adria’s groundbreaking El Bulli.
—Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The results were the prototypes RoboBall II and RoboBall III that are designed to explore how such spherical robots could be used to explore rough terrain and craters on the Moon.
—New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2025
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Veronique Greenwood, Quanta Magazine, 8 Sep. 2025
The researchers used perfectly spherical silica particles just 200 nanometers wide, essentially superfine sand, to achieve the effect.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
Bazaar Meat then became known for colossal steaks and suckling pigs while also showcasing whimsical dishes like spherical olives and beefsteak tomato tartare that are obviously nods to the time Andrés spent cooking at Ferran Adria’s groundbreaking El Bulli.
—Andy Wang, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The results were the prototypes RoboBall II and RoboBall III that are designed to explore how such spherical robots could be used to explore rough terrain and craters on the Moon.
—New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spherical
Cite this Entry
“Spherical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spherical. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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spherical
adjective
spher·i·cal
ˈsfir-i-kəl
ˈsfer-
: relating to or having the form of a sphere or part of a sphere
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