Mercator

[ mer-key-ter; for 1 also Flemish mer-kah-tawr ]

/ mərˈkeɪ tər; for 1 also Flemish mɛrˈkɑ tɔr /

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noun

Ger·har·dus

[jer-hahr-duhs], /dʒərˈhɑr dəs/, Gerhard Kremer, 1512–94, Flemish cartographer and geographer.

adjective

noting, pertaining to, or according to the principles of a Mercator projection: a Mercator chart.

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Words nearby Mercator

mercapto, mercapto group, mercaptopurine, Mercast, mercat, Mercator, Mercator projection, Mercator sailing, Mercator track, Merced, Mercedes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Mercator in a sentence

Mercator’s map shows a giant Greenland and the Western world at its center.
Your Map Is Lying to You|abarronian|July 12, 2021|Outside Online
To Mercator’s credit, his map was created for the purposes of navigation, and it does this well—but it sucks for visual accuracy.
Your Map Is Lying to You|abarronian|July 12, 2021|Outside Online
The most common map used these days is the Mercator projection.
Earth as you’ve never seen it before|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|April 19, 2021|Science News For Students
The Mercator projection is very good for navigation and for making local maps.
Earth as you’ve never seen it before|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|April 19, 2021|Science News For Students

For example, Hawaii is much closer to Asia than it looks on a Mercator projection.
Earth as you’ve never seen it before|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|April 19, 2021|Science News For Students
A few hundred years later, Belgian cartographer Gerard Mercator was charged with heresy.
The Secret, Contentious History of Maps|Kevin Canfield|November 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The blog was recently optioned by Mercator Pictures for scripted television development.
Get Famous or Your Money Back|Jessie Rosen|June 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The engraved map is of the Hondius or the Mercator type presenting in the main the best geographical knowledge of the time.
Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Vol II|Edward Luther Stevenson
We annex a sketch of this map as reduced by Brevoort to Mercator's projection.
Christopher Columbus and How He Received and Imparted the Spirit of Discovery|Justin Winsor
You already know something about the Mercator Projection and a Mercator chart.
Lectures in Navigation|Ernest Gallaudet Draper
The Hydrographic Office publishes blank Mercator charts for all latitudes in which they can be used for plotting your position.
Lectures in Navigation|Ernest Gallaudet Draper
In very high latitudes and near the North pole, the Mercator chart is worthless.
Lectures in Navigation|Ernest Gallaudet Draper

British Dictionary definitions for Mercator

Mercator

/ (mɜːˈkeɪtə) /

noun

Gerardus (dʒəˈrɑːdəs). Latinized name of Gerhard Kremer. 1512–94, Flemish cartographer and mathematician

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Mercator

Mercator

[ mər-kā′tər ]

Gerhardus Originally Gerhard Kremer 1512-1594

Flemish cartographer who in 1568 developed the Mercator projection. In 1585 he began work on a book of maps of Europe, a project that was later completed by his son and published in 1595. As a result of the drawing of the Greek titan Atlas carrying the globe on his shoulders on the book's cover, the term atlas was subsequently applied to any book of maps.