Environment

  Environment the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences;  surroundings ;  milieu . Synonyms:  environs ,  locale Ecology.  the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time. the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population. 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. an indoor or outdoor setting characterized by the presence of  environmental art  that is designed specifically to make use of that site.