environment

noun

1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu.
2. Ecology. the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.
3. the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.
4. Computers. the hardware or software configuration, or the mode of operation, of a computer system: In a time-sharing environment, transactions are processed as they occur.
5. an indoor or outdoor setting that is characterized by the presence of environmental art that is itself designed to be site-specific.

noun

1. external conditions or surroundings, esp those in which people live or work
2. ecology the external surroundings in which a plant or animal lives, which tend to influence its development and behaviour
3. the state of being environed; encirclement
4. computing an operating system, program, or integrated suite of programs that provides all the facilities necessary for a particular applicationa word-processing environment

n.

1. The totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms, especially the combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms.

1. All of the biotic and abiotic factors that act on an organism, population, or ecological community and influence its survival and development. Biotic factors include the organisms themselves, their food, and their interactions. Abiotic factors include such items as sunlight, soil, air, water, climate, and pollution. Organisms respond to changes in their environment by evolutionary adaptations in form and behavior.