geology

American  

[jee-ol-uh-jee] / dʒiˈɒl ə dʒi /

noun

geologies plural

1. the science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is undergoing.

2. the study of this science.

3. the geologic features and processes occurring in a given region on the earth or on a celestial body.

   the geology of Mars; the geology of eastern Kentucky.

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geology British  

/ dʒɪˈɒlədʒɪ, ˌdʒɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

1. the scientific study of the origin, history, structure, and composition of the earth

2. the geological features of a district or country

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geology Scientific  

/ jē-ŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of the origin of the Earth along with its rocks, minerals, land forms, and life forms, and of the processes that have affected them over the course of the Earth's history.

2. The structure of a specific region of the Earth, including its rocks, soils, mountains, fossils, and other features.

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geology Cultural  

1. The science devoted to the study of the Earth, particularly the solid Earth and the rocks that compose it.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• geologist
  noun
• geological
  adjective
• geologically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• geologies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of geology

First recorded in 1680–90; geo- + -logy

Explanation

Geology is the study of the Earth and what it's made of, including its natural history. Just as biology is the study of earth's life forms, geology is the study of the earth itself. Geology tells us where lakes once were, where volcanoes erupted, where glaciers pushed up mountains and then melted. Geologists — people who study geology — tell us where to find oil, coal and diamonds and then they explain how they got there. If you find the natural world beautiful and interesting, you might enjoy studying geology.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

geology geologies

The project combines archaeology, paleontology, geology, and other scientific approaches to investigate one of the most important developments in human evolution: the use of fire.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026

"From an environmentalist point of view, this is chaos," said Silvio Pastore, a geology professor at the National University of San Juan.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

Afterwards, I decided I really want to learn about the geology of L.A., and I found an interest in paleontology, too.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Shutting down production abruptly can damage older oil fields, especially those with low pressure or fragile geology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

While serving at a base in the Southwest, he began collecting arrowheads, a hobby that ultimately led to his abandoning geology and coming to the University of Arizona as a graduate student in archaeology.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

“We use the same geologies that have kept hydrocarbons underground for millions of years,” said Julia Reichelstein, the company’s cofounder and CEO.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2024

Reservoirs with high fracture density and connectivity, like the complicated geologies found in real-world settings, could provide even better results, the scientists said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2023

The researchers fed their maps of building distribution and ground type into a set of models designed to predict how different geologies respond to pressure.

From Scientific American ● May 26, 2023

Older geologies are exposed, from which billions of years of history can be deduced.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 29, 2019

Take the mythic cosmogonies of ancient Greece, Scandinavia, and India, and the geologies and astronomies of the present day, and compare their pages, changing things personal into things impersonal.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 15, January, 1859 by Various

Related Words

• earth science
• geopolitics
• topography