horizon

/həˈraɪzən/

/həˈraɪzən/

Other forms: horizons

When you look out your window and note the furthest point you can see––the line where the sky meets the earth––that edge is called the horizon. Horizon can also mean the edge of something in a figurative sense.

When you are thinking about your life, it can be difficult to get very far beyond where you are. Teenagers have a hard time imagining beyond the horizons of young adulthood. People expecting a baby often put much of their focus on infancy––having a child who can sit up or even walk is beyond the horizons of their thinking.

Definitions of horizon

1. noun

   the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
   synonyms: apparent horizon, sensible horizon, skyline, visible horizon

   type of:

   line

   a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent
2. noun

   the great circle on the celestial sphere whose plane passes through the sensible horizon and the center of the Earth
   synonyms: celestial horizon

   type of:

   great circle

   a circular line on the surface of a sphere formed by intersecting it with a plane passing through the center
3. noun

   the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated
   “It is beyond the horizon of present knowledge”

   synonyms: purview, view

   type of:

   ambit, compass, orbit, range, reach, scope

   an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
4. noun

   a specific layer or stratum of soil or subsoil in a vertical cross section of land
   types:

   soil horizon

   a layer in a soil profile

   geological horizon

   a layer of rock with a particular composition (especially of fossils); for dating the stratum

   type of:

   stratum

   one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock)