Globular means shaped like a small ball, or like a tiny round drop. Scientists talk about globular clusters of stars (huge balls of stars) and globular proteins (folded into a roundish shape); a globular lamp looks like a globe. It is a more formal, scientific cousin of round or ball-shaped. You will meet it in science class more than in chat. Though actually, globular keeps a hint of “little ball” (from globule), so it often describes things that are round and rather small or packed, not a huge round planet — for the whole earth we say global, which looks similar but does a completely different job.