From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstratospherestrat‧os‧phere /ˈstrætəsfɪə $ -sfɪr/ noun 1 → the stratosphere2 HIGH POSITION OR RANK[singular] informal a very high position, level, or amount Oil prices soared into the stratosphere. He’s now at the top of the political stratosphere.
Examples from the Corpus
stratosphere• But he expects good sales from certain novels below the CrichtonGrisham stratosphere.• But with no corresponding drop in birthrates the population line was propelled into the demographic stratosphere.• So the cloud absorbs sunlight, heating the stratosphere up but stopping warmth from reaching the Earth.• It also forms a very reflective sulfate aerosol haze in the stratosphere, which efficiently reflects incident sunlight away from Earth.• Ozone in the stratosphere forms a natural shield to filter harmful ultraviolet light.• It was the Unwins, in the stratosphere of ecstasy, who led Upper Gumtree into the winners' circle.• Nuclear explosions produce shock waves which can inject oxides of nitrogen into the stratosphere.• It forces real interest rates into the stratosphere and makes rapid growth extremely difficult.into the stratosphere• They raise horrendous amounts of dust, which is carried by the rising mushroom clouds into the stratosphere.• The budget deficit quadrupled in the 1980s, and the public debt followed it into the stratosphere.• Nuclear explosions produce shock waves which can inject oxides of nitrogen into the stratosphere.• Impatience is justified if theory moves off into the stratosphere, so to speak.• It forces real interest rates into the stratosphere and makes rapid growth extremely difficult.• The nation's teenage pregnancy rate is soaring into the stratosphere.Origin stratosphere (1900-2000) French stratosphère, from Modern Latin stratum ( → STRATUM) + French sphère “sphere” 