topographic

[ top-uh-graf-ik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to the topography or surface features of a relatively small area or locality; showing or describing these features:

   Trail Guides offer info on hiking trails, with a topographic map on one side and trail details on the back.

2. of, relating to, or describing the features, relations, or configuration of a structural entity, as of the mind, a field of study, etc.:

   Large color drawings show the topographic anatomy of the entire body, including the bones, muscles, organs, blood vessels, nerves, and lymph nodes.

Other Words From

• top·o·graph·i·cal·ly adverb
• non·top·o·graph·i·cal adjective
• non·top·o·graph·i·cal·ly adverb
• un·top·o·graph·i·cal adjective
• un·top·o·graph·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of topographic¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Greek topographikós “pertaining to topography”; topography ( def ), -ic

Example Sentences

In the last several years, climate change-induced coral die-offs have radically disrupted the reefs’ animal populations and changed their very topography.

From Nautilus

From a young age, children are introduced to maps for geography, topography, history, and everyday uses such as navigation or checking the weather.

From MIT Technology Review

Some of the clues that a supervolcano may lurk under the Islands of the Four Mountains, in the Aleutian Islands chain in southwest Alaska, come from seafloor topography mapping, like this bathymetry map compiled by NOAA.

From Science News

Wherever the intrepid Eleanor travels, Michaelis offers vivid descriptions of topography, wardrobe, weather conditions and societal moods as if an understudy for Charles Dickens.

From Washington Post

He pocketed a topographic map of the border region from the base and prepared his family for the trip ahead.

From The Daily Beast

Thomas Moule died in London, aged 67; a well known writer to the extent of many volumes on topographic and heraldic antiquities.

From Project Gutenberg

He made sure that he had his topographic maps and other articles that he had found to be necessary or desirable.

From Project Gutenberg

You may go to this prison by the same road his escort took, now named Boulevard Diderot, with unconscious topographic humor.

From Project Gutenberg

The topographic features of the Cecil mica loam consist of gentle and occasionally steep rolling slopes.

From Project Gutenberg

It is believed, however, that the topographic and climatic conditions in southern California are favorable for its cultivation.

From Project Gutenberg