dome

[dohm]

noun

1. Architecture.

   1. a vault, having a circular plan and usually in the form of a portion of a sphere, so constructed as to exert an equal thrust in all directions.

   2. a domical roof or ceiling.

   3. a polygonal vault, ceiling, or roof.

2. any covering thought to resemble the hemispherical vault of a building or room.

   the great dome of the sky.

3. anything shaped like a hemisphere or inverted bowl.

4. (in a dam) a semidome having its convex surface toward the impounded water.

5. Crystallography.,  a form having planes that intersect the vertical axis and are parallel to one of the lateral axes.

6. Geology.,  upwarp.

7. Also called vistadome. Railroads.,  a raised, glass-enclosed section of the roof of a passenger car, placed over an elevated section of seats to afford passengers a full view of scenery.

8. Horology.,  an inner cover for the works of a watch, which snaps into the rim of the case.

9. a mountain peak having a rounded summit.

10. Slang.,  a person's head.

    I wish I could get the idea into that thick dome of yours.

verb (used with object)

domed, doming 

1. to cover with or as if with a dome.

2. to shape like a dome.

verb (used without object)

domed, doming 

1. to rise or swell as a dome.

dome

/ dəʊm, ˈdəʊmɪkəl, ˈdɒm- /

noun

1. a hemispherical roof or vault or a structure of similar form

2. something shaped like this

3. crystallog a crystal form in which two planes intersect along an edge parallel to a lateral axis

4. a slang word for the head

5. geology

   1. a structure in which rock layers slope away in all directions from a central point

   2. another name for pericline

verb

1. to cover with or as if with a dome

2. to shape like a dome

dome

1. A circular or elliptical area of uplifted rock in which the rock dips gently away, in all directions, from a central point.

2. A wedge-shaped mineral crystal that has two nonparallel, similarly inclined faces that intersect along a plane of symmetry.

Other Word Forms

• domical adjective
• domelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dome¹

1505–15; < Middle French dome < Italian duomo < Medieval Latin domus ( Deī ) house (of God), church; akin to timber

Word History and Origins

Origin of dome¹

C16: from French, from Italian duomo cathedral, from Latin domus house

Example Sentences

Can Sphere win big on its risky gamble that there’s no place like dome?

From Los Angeles Times

While “Lurker” might feel a bit slight at times, and viewers may crave a full-scale, “Mr. Ripley”-esque marble statue to the dome, a lethal level of violence never arrives.

From Salon

The carbon fibre hull had titanium domes fitted on each end, but he said the metal had been machined incorrectly.

From BBC

Last week, Chicago was smothered by another heat dome.

From Salon

The museum’s entry is like a giant dome with a big round skylight at the top.

From Los Angeles Times