stratosphere.

1. An atmospheric layer above the troposphere in which temperature generally rises with height, notably on Earth through absorption of sunlight by ozone.

2. An extremely high level of price, status, performance, or another measurable or evaluative scale.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• Earth’s stratosphere
• the lower stratosphere

On the page

The probe crossed the lower stratosphere before reaching the warmer upper layers.

The plan kept the platform in the stratosphere above most of the storm activity.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular stratosphere; plural stratospheres. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.