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• atlas
  atlas

  noun

  a bound collection of maps.
• Atlas
  Atlas

  noun

  a Titan, son of Iapetus and brother of Prometheus and Epimetheus, condemned to support the sky on his shoulders: identified by the ancients with the Atlas Mountains.

atlas

¹ American  

[at-luhs] / ˈæt ləs /

noun

• atlases,
  plural
• atlantes
  plural

1. 

   a bound collection of maps.

2. a bound volume of charts, plates, or tables illustrating any subject.

3. Anatomy. the first cervical vertebra, which supports the head.

4. a size of drawing or writing paper, 26 × 34 or 33 inches.

5. Also called telamon.  Architecture. a sculptural figure of a man used as a column.

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Atlas ² American  

[at-luhs] / ˈæt ləs /

noun

• Atlases
  plural

1. Classical Mythology. a Titan, son of Iapetus and brother of Prometheus and Epimetheus, condemned to support the sky on his shoulders: identified by the ancients with the Atlas Mountains.

2. a person who supports a heavy burden; a mainstay.

3. Charles Angelo Siciliano, 1894–1972, U.S. body-building advocate, born in Italy.

4. a liquid-propellant booster rocket, originally developed as the first U.S. ICBM, used with Agena or Centaur upper stages to launch satellites into orbit around the earth and send probes to the moon and planets; also used to launch the Mercury spacecraft into orbit around the earth.

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atlas ¹ British  

/ ˈætləs /

noun

1. a collection of maps, usually in book form

2. a book of charts, graphs, etc, illustrating aspects of a subject

   an anatomical atlas

3. anatomy the first cervical vertebra, attached to and supporting the skull in man Compare axis 1

4. architect another name for telamon

5. a standard size of drawing paper, 26 × 17 inches

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Atlas ² British  

/ ˈætləs /

noun

1. Greek myth a Titan compelled to support the sky on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus

2. a US intercontinental ballistic missile, also used in launching spacecraft

3. astronomy a small satellite of Saturn, discovered in 1980

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Atlas ¹ Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, a Titan famous for his strength. After the defeat of the Titans by Zeus, Atlas was condemned to support the Earth and sky on his shoulders for eternity.

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atlas ² Cultural  

1. A bound collection of maps. Atlases are named after the Greek god Atlas.

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Discover More

An “Atlas” or “atlas” is an incredibly strong person or one who carries an enormous burden.

Since the sixteenth century, pictures of Atlas and his burden have been used as decorations on maps. Accordingly, the word atlas is used for a book of maps.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Atlases
  plural
• atlantes
  plural
• atlases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of atlas

1580–90 in sense “prop, support”; as name for a collection of maps, said to be from illustrations of Atlas supporting the globe in early books of this kind

Explanation

Can’t remember which countries border Uzbekistan? Consult an atlas, a book of maps, and you’ll find the information you need. An atlas gets its name from the Greek god Atlas, who, according to myth, was forced to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. You might feel like Atlas if you have to carry one of these books around. Atlases are usually large, oversized books that contain maps, diagrams, and information such as population figures. Traditionally, atlas refers specifically to a bound book of maps rather than to a folding map, a globe, or an online database.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

atlas Atlas Atlases atlases

“Just as an atlas is a collection of maps, linking together features of the land like altitude and location, AlphaGenome Atlas charts the molecular effects of DNA variants across the genome.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The new atlas will not solve the mysteries of the human brain.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

An agreeable companion on the page, Mr. McCarthy prefers scenic parkways to multilane highways and amusingly relies on a Rand McNally road atlas instead of phone-enabled navigation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

The Conservatory project has created what researchers describe as a "comprehensive atlas of regulatory conservation across plants, including dozens of crop species and their wild ancestors."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026

I got up, went to Kevin’s office and took a small scratch pad and a new pen from his desk and the large atlas from his bookcase.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

She also reduces the fair value of the company’s U.S.-based robotics affiliate, Boston Dynamics, to 55 billion won from 115 billion won previously, based on a newly estimated average selling price for Atlas humanoid robots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

After the Atlas fire destroyed the Signorello family’s winery in 2017 but spared the 40 acres of vines they owned, owner Ray Signorello Jr. pledged to rebuild.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

But slash-and-burn land-clearing practices also contributed to the damage, said David Gaveau, founder of the Nusantara Atlas.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

The New York-headquartered company said its Atlas multi-cloud database grew 29%, beating guidance of 26% but, as Morgan Stanley analysts wrote, “disappointing investors looking for 30%.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

In the Town Hall to this day, there is a statue of Atlas supporting the heavens, festooned with constellations.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"Rather attractive... with Atlases supporting enormous mock columns and a rather luxurious intimacy about the atmosphere".

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2022

If the scale model in the museum is to be believed, the Atlases stood on a recessed ledge in the upper portions of the bays, hands stretched above their heads.

From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2020

Could Lou or one of the other Atlases take his title?

From The Guardian ● Nov. 6, 2015

The earlier generation of nuclear missiles - the mere dozens of Titans and the Atlases - were massive, expensive to maintain, volatile because of their liquid fuel and in need of constant security, Heefner said.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 17, 2015

It reached from floor to ceiling; the lower parts, black marble, carved into crouching Atlases, with great muscles that upbore the superstructure.

From The Octopus : A story of California by Frank Norris

Histological atlases map its architecture at cellular resolution using microscopic images of tissue slices.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

"Most large atlases like this require large consortia with dozens of laboratories but our method is far more efficient than other approaches."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 28, 2026

His meticulous survey takes in dozens of sources, from the obscure to the well-known: pamphlets to legal codes, sermons to atlases, maps, travel narratives, even journals kept by ships’ captains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

Other anatomical atlases exist, but these illustrations had especially fine details, including of the nerves extending beyond the brain and spiral cord.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2024

I knew from studying atlases as a kid that Cymru meant Wales.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

• album
• booklet
• brochure
• copy
• dictionary
• edition
• essay
• fiction
• magazine
• manual
• novel
• pamphlet
• paperback
• publication
• text
• textbook
• tome
• volume
• work
• writing