atlas
noun
a bound collection of maps.
atlas
1 American
[at-luhs]
/ ˈæt ləs /
noun
-
atlases,
plural
-
atlantes
plural
-
a bound collection of maps.
-
a bound volume of charts, plates, or tables illustrating any subject.
-
Anatomy. the first cervical vertebra, which supports the head.
-
a size of drawing or writing paper, 26 × 34 or 33 inches.
-
Also called telamon. Architecture. a sculptural figure of a man used as a column.
Atlas
2
American
[at-luhs]
/ ˈæt ləs /
noun
-
Atlases
plural
-
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.
-
a person who supports a heavy burden; a mainstay.
-
Charles Angelo Siciliano, 1894–1972, U.S. body-building advocate, born in Italy.
-
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.
atlas
1
British
/ ˈætləs /
noun
-
a collection of maps, usually in book form
-
a book of charts, graphs, etc, illustrating aspects of a subject
an anatomical atlas
-
anatomy the first cervical vertebra, attached to and supporting the skull in man Compare axis 1
-
architect another name for telamon
-
a standard size of drawing paper, 26 × 17 inches
Atlas
2
British
/ ˈætləs /
noun
-
Greek myth a Titan compelled to support the sky on his shoulders as punishment for rebelling against Zeus
-
a US intercontinental ballistic missile, also used in launching spacecraft
-
astronomy a small satellite of Saturn, discovered in 1980
Atlas
1
Cultural
atlas
2
Cultural
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing atlas
You Name It: Eponyms
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Kindred
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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:
“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
To create the atlas, the team analyzed donated human tissue along with brain organoids grown from stem cells.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Other scientists say the atlas could also help neurosurgeons navigate the brainstem more safely.
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
Miraculously, they had found a dust-covered atlas hidden in some closet.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
“Nothing’s conclusive until it’s randomized,” said Ben Hirsh, director of preventive cardiology at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Positron has already shipped approximately 50 of its previous generation of server racks, called Atlas, to Oracle, and counts finance firm Jump Trading and AI firm Parasail as customers, the company said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Signorello Estate — a Napa Valley winery that rebuilt after becoming the poster child of the Atlas fire when its tasting room burned to the ground — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
According to the Nusantara Atlas fire tracker, more than 285,000 hectares have burnt in Indonesia so far this year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Right there is James Atlas, the writer from The New Yorker. Over here, that’s Frank Raines. He is the head of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration.”
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Even the more modest buildings have distinctive flourishes, and some are simply stand-in-the-street-and-stare astonishing, like the House of Scientists, a neo-Baroque extravaganza with a huge wooden entryway flanked by twin Atlases holding up the balcony.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2022
"Rather attractive... with Atlases supporting enormous mock columns and a rather luxurious intimacy about the atmosphere".
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2022
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
The Maps, composing the Atlases, will be found equal in execution and correctness to those on the most extensive scale.
From Conversations on Natural Philosophy, in which the Elements of that Science are Familiarly Explained by Thomas P. Jones
MRI-based atlases capture the brain's broad structure but not individual cells.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
They hold thousands of maps and atlases of everything from cave networks to mountain ranges to capital flows to the surface of the moon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 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
Eventually, the team envisions uLIPSTIC as a key tool in the effort to generate comprehensive atlases describing how cells interact to form tissue -- a key to the long-awaited interactome.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024
Hal arrives with an overstuffed portfolio of maps torn from atlases and pilfered from AAA.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions 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.
