Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1900-2000
Language: French
Origin: stratosphère, from Modern Latin stratum ( STRATUM) + French sphère 'sphere'

stratosphere

 noun
     
strat‧os‧phere
1

the stratosphere

HAHE the outer part of the air surrounding the Earth, from ten to fifty kilometres above the Earth [↪ atmosphere]
2 [singular] a very high position, level, or amount:
oil prices soared into the stratosphere
He's now at the top of the political stratosphere.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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