Trivia Time

Which scholar of the ancient world first used the word geography?

Test Your Knowledge

geography

American  

[jee-og-ruh-fee] / dʒiˈɒg rə fi /

noun

• geographies
  plural

1. 

   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.

2. the study of this science.

3. the topographical features of a region, usually of the earth, sometimes of the planets.

4. a book dealing with this science or study, as a textbook.

5. the arrangement of features of any complex entity.

   the geography of the mind.

---

geography British  

/ dʒɪˈɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. the study of the natural features of the earth's surface, including topography, climate, soil, vegetation, etc, and man's response to them

2. the natural features of a region

3. an arrangement of constituent parts; plan; layout

---

geography Scientific  

/ jē-ŏg′rə-fē /

1. The scientific study of the Earth's surface and its various climates, countries, peoples, and natural resources.

2. The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an area.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• geographer
  noun
• geographical
  adjective
• geographically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• geographies
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

geography geographies

They can target groups of at least 5,000, sorted by age, geography or both.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

In that geography, revenues fell 22 percent to $1.2 billion.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

I called my parents to say I was OK, not sure how well they understood the geography of lower Manhattan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

"I've worked for America. I understand that geography," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

“What kind of geography problem would I have?”

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

“Diversifying infrastructure across multiple geographies can help hyperscalers reduce regulatory, permitting, and political concentration risk over time,” Lee said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

The supply squeeze has shifted across geographies and products over time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Demand strengthened across nearly all of the company’s different seat tiers and geographies, JetBlue said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Management said that Levi’s customers — across genders and geographies — had remained “resilient,” amid concerns about putting off clothing purchases or waiting for discounts as costs of living rise.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

He found rather a medley of worn school-books—old-fashioned geographies and histories and foreign conversation grammars; of mouldy novels, many in French and Italian; of illustrated lives of actresses, prime donne, and celebrated courtezans.

From Cleo The Magnificent Or, the Muse of the Real by Louis Zangwill

Related Words

• earth science
• geology
• geopolitics
• topography