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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

plural

atlases, atlantes

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

plural

Atlases

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.

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

First held in 2018, the week stems from the island's involvement with an online atlas of wildlife.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 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

"It's a good idea to carry a road atlas for back-up, too."

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

Three years later, their partnership has produced an unprecedented body of knowledge about hundreds of protist species and laid the groundwork for a "planetary atlas" of plankton.

From Science Daily • Nov. 2, 2025

Everything else was gone, including both our maps—the small one Emma had used to navigate us across the channel and the massive leather-bound loop atlas that had been Millard’s prized possession, the Map of Days.

From "Hollow City" 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