dome
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Anything shaped like an upset bowl, often used as a cover.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dohmIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdoʊm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
by extension
Anything shaped like an upset bowl, often used as a cover.
informal
Informal terms for a human head
informal
A person's head.
architecture
A structural element resembling the hollow upper half of a sphere.
A member of a low-ranking Indian caste traditionally employed in carrying dead bodies, removing carrion, etc.
verb
transitivecolloquialslang
To shoot in the head.
transitive
To give a domed shape to.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Anything shaped like an upset bowl, often used as a cover.
Used this way, dome is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use dome
- “The observatory has a large dome protecting its powerful telescope.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.