firmament

noun

fir·​ma·​ment ˈfər-mə-mənt 

1

: the vault or arch of the sky : heavens

Stars twinkled in the firmament.

2

obsolete : basis

3

: the field or sphere of an interest or activity

the international fashion firmament

She's a rising star in the city's artistic firmament.

firmamental

ˌfər-mə-ˈmen-tᵊl 

adjective

Synonyms

• blue
• heaven(s)
• high
• sky
• welkin

Examples of firmament in a Sentence

meteors flashing across the firmament

the stars in the firmament twinkled ever so brightly

Recent Examples on the Web

High in the thin Alaskan air, where abundant oxygen had long abandoned such firmaments for lower altitude, five women knelt circled against the piercing cold. —Cassidy Randall, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

Prices are, accordingly, among the highest in the steakhouse firmament, though slightly lower than those at The Grill and Bourbon Steak. —John Mariani, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

In that spirit, here is my list of at least a few sanctuaries to find happiness in our media firmament. —Howard Homonoff, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

To much of the pop firmament, this might seem like a ho-hum event, one more online drop indistinguishable from all the others. —Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin firmamentum, from Latin, support, from firmare

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

firmament

noun

fir·​ma·​ment ˈfər-mə-mənt 

: the arch of the sky : heavens