geography
Americannoun
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geographies
plural
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the science dealing with the areal differentiation of the earth's surface, as shown in the character, arrangement, and interrelations over the world of such elements as climate, elevation, soil, vegetation, population, land use, industries, or states, and of the unit areas formed by the complex of these individual elements.
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the study of this science.
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the topographical features of a region, usually of the earth, sometimes of the planets.
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a book dealing with this science or study, as a textbook.
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the arrangement of features of any complex entity.
the geography of the mind.
noun
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the study of the natural features of the earth's surface, including topography, climate, soil, vegetation, etc, and man's response to them
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the natural features of a region
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an arrangement of constituent parts; plan; layout
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The scientific study of the Earth's surface and its various climates, countries, peoples, and natural resources.
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The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an area.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of geography
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin geōgraphia, from Greek geōgraphía “earth description”; equivalent to geo- + -graphy
Explanation
Geography is the study of the land and how we use it. A geography lesson about your hometown would teach about the terrain, including any landforms like mountains or waterways, its vegetation, roads and other human-made developments, and its people. Geography means "description of the earth's surface." It is often confused with a related word, geology, which means "study of the earth." Geography is about anything that happens on the ground, or above it, including how people live and use the land, while geology studies the earth's content, like the plates that form it and how they move.
Vocabulary lists containing geography
Elements of the Universe: Geo ("Earth")
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geo
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Geography and Culture (Grade 8)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Although Antarctica's geography allows winter sea ice to expand over enormous distances, it also pushes the ice into warmer latitudes, where melting becomes more likely during summer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Their analysis combined the available fossil record with evolutionary relationships among dinosaurs, ancient geography, and climate conditions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Tom, 22, from Maidstone graduated last year with a geography degree and says he applied for over 200 jobs before finally landing a role last month as a restaurant manager.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Four versions of the 2027 calendar were printed based on geography because customers wanted to see more cats from stores in their area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Like I thought, I did pretty well in science and math, but when it came to questions about history, geography, some critical reading and writing skills…I did not do well.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Chief Executive Jennifer Wong said the results show broad momentum across the business, spanning all geographies, channels and categories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Diversification in the tech sector is not about different geographies, sizes and business models.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
His advice: Diversify fixed-income portfolios across geographies and asset classes to reduce risk while benefiting from higher yields.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
He was referring to wide-area network, a term for optical networks across large geographies.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
Men divide now according to their interests, not according to boundaries that may be learned in the school geographies.
From Behind the Mirrors The Psychology of Disintegration at Washington by Clinton W. (Clinton Wallace) Gilbert
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
