topographic

American  

[top-uh-graf-ik] / ˌtɒp əˈgræf ɪk /

Also topographical

adjective

1. of or relating to the topography or surface features of a relatively small area or locality; showing or describing these features.

   Trail Guides offer info on hiking trails, with a topographic map on one side and trail details on the back.

2. of, relating to, or describing the features, relations, or configuration of a structural entity, as of the mind, a field of study, etc..

   Large color drawings show the topographic anatomy of the entire body, including the bones, muscles, organs, blood vessels, nerves, and lymph nodes.

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Other Word Forms

• nontopographical adjective
• nontopographically adverb
• topographically adverb
• untopographical adjective
• untopographically adverb

Etymology

Origin of topographic

First recorded in 1610–20; from Greek topographikós “pertaining to topography”; topography ( def. ), -ic

Example Sentences

You can clearly see these on a topographic map as circles or ovals that have small lines pointing to the center of the circle or oval.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 5, 2024

These similarities are despite any differences in glacial history, background topographic steepness, annual precipitation, and other factors that would otherwise govern the push and pull of water and land, the researchers report.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024

Specially equipped planes beamed laser pulses into the forest and measured their return path, revealing topographic features otherwise invisible under the trees.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 10, 2024

But such effects depend in part on the specifics of mountain ranges and other topographic features that are essentially impossible to predict.

From Scientific American • Oct. 17, 2023

In a room just off the small museum stood a topographic diorama.

From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III