geography

noun

ge·​og·​ra·​phy jē-ˈä-grə-fē 

plural geographies

1

: a science that deals with the description, distribution, and interaction of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's surface

2

: the geographic features of an area

3

: a treatise on geography

4

a

: a delineation or systematic arrangement of constituent elements : configuration

the philosophers … have tried to construct geographies of human reason

—Times Literary Supplement

b

: makeup sense 1

her emotional geography

Synonyms

• chorography
• geomorphology
• landscape
• terrain
• topography

Examples of geography in a Sentence

studying the geography of the western United States

the geography of the region matches ancient descriptions of the location of the lost city

Recent Examples on the Web

Elsewhere, this could only be a scene of sensory overload, but its eye-of-the-storm geography made the Bowl a kind of redoubt, cool and dark and almost hushed under the purple sky. —Michael Owen, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2025

Also, has the show’s geography ever been more puzzling than in the Season 7 premiere? —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 31 Jan. 2025

Though they were outnumbered, the Seminole people were accustomed to Florida’s harsh climate and familiar with the land’s geography. —Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2025

Builders Greg and Lee Ross of Ross Built Custom Homes, and members of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program, understand that geography plays a critical role in construction. —Cece Lesesne, Southern Living, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin geographia, from Greek geōgraphia, from geōgraphein to describe the earth's surface, from geō- + graphein to write — more at carve

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing geography

• dialect geography
• linguistic geography
• physical geography

Kids Definition

geography

noun

ge·​og·​ra·​phy jē-ˈäg-rə-fē 

plural geographies

1

: a science that deals with the location of living and nonliving things on earth and the way they affect one another

2

: the natural parts of an area

the geography of the western U.S.

geographer

-fər

noun

geographic

ˌjē-ə-ˈgraf-ik

adjective

or geographical

-i-kəl

geographically

-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb