topography
the detailed mapping or charting of the features of a relatively small area, district, or locality.
the detailed description, especially by means of surveying, of particular localities, as cities, towns, or estates.
the relief features or surface configuration of an area.
the features, relations, or configuration of a structural entity.
a schema of a structural entity, as of the mind, a field of study, or society, reflecting a division into distinct areas having a specific relation or a specific position relative to one another.
Origin of topography
1Other words from topography
- top·o·graph·ic [top-uh-graf-ik], /ˌtɒp əˈgræf ɪk/, top·o·graph·i·cal, adjective
Words that may be confused with topography
- topography , typography
Words Nearby topography
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use topography in a sentence
Those fires involve topography, weather, fuel conditions, fire-fighting response, on and on.
California Will Keep Burning. But Housing Policy Is Making It Worse. | by Elizabeth Weil and Mollie Simon | October 2, 2020 | ProPublicaTo do it, they had a Trimble SX10 scanner, a tool that measures objects like buildings or the topography of a landscape.
How scientists try to weigh some of the fattest bears on Earth | María Paula Rubiano A. | October 2, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSeismology, gravity and topography data could go a long way to revealing what lurks beneath the ice.
A ‘lake’ on Mars may be surrounded by more pools of water | Christopher Crockett | September 28, 2020 | Science NewsIn the mountains, the rain will quickly run downhill, potentially triggering a flash flood, whereas the water will spread out more slowly where there is less topography.
NOAA is changing the way it talks about hurricanes | Greta Moran | September 22, 2020 | Popular-ScienceVERITAS is an orbiter that would use a combination of radar and near-infrared spectroscopy to peer beyond the planet’s thick clouds and help us understand the surface geology and topography.
We need to go to Venus as soon as possible | Neel Patel | September 16, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Rising up from scooping bay, the steep topography—hemmed by hills of evergreens—promises panoramas at practically every turn.
I would say timing and mastering topography were two of them.
It changed the creative topography of the show and it rocked our world and it rocked the viewers.
‘The Good Wife’s Christine Baranski on Life After Will Gardner’s Death | Jason Lynch | April 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMr. Netanyahu has pledged to erect a similar barrier along the Syrian frontier, with changes to suit the topography.
He knows the topography and geography of Israel/Palestine, literally street by street and wadi by wadi.
How to Revive The Peace Process: A Modest Proposal | Letty Cottin Pogrebin | May 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe combination of these five regions suggests a one-word description of Virginia's topography, namely, diversified.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyBut clouds prevented me seeing more and studying the topography more carefully.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 | Charles Kenneth Howard-BuryThis lack of enjoyment in Nature, lack of interest in topography and archaeology, was probably personal to him.
The Age of Erasmus | P. S. AllenBut before he went to bed, he got out his maps and studied the topography of the region over which he had to fly the next day.
The Flying Reporter | Lewis E. (Lewis Edwin) TheissThey vary with the climate, the topography, the size of the timber, and the kind of product to be harvested.
Our National Forests | Richard H. Douai Boerker
British Dictionary definitions for topography
/ (təˈpɒɡrəfɪ) /
the study or detailed description of the surface features of a region
the detailed mapping of the configuration of a region
the land forms or surface configuration of a region
the surveying of a region's surface features
the study or description of the configuration of any object
Derived forms of topography
- topographer, noun
- topographic (ˌtɒpəˈɡræfɪk) or topographical, adjective
- topographically, adverb
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 topography
[ tə-pŏg′rə-fē ]
The three-dimensional arrangement of physical attributes (such as shape, height, and depth) of a land surface in a place or region. Physical features that make up the topography of an area include mountains, valleys, plains, and bodies of water. Human-made features such as roads, railroads, and landfills are also often considered part of a region's topography.
The detailed description or drawing of the physical features of a place or region, especially in the form of contour maps.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse