cartography

noun

car·​tog·​ra·​phy kär-ˈtä-grə-fē 

: the science or art of making maps

cartographic

ˌkär-tə-ˈgra-fik 

adjective

or less commonly cartographical

ˌkär-tə-ˈgra-fi-kəl 

cartographically

ˌkär-tə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of cartography in a Sentence

She studied cartography in college.

Recent Examples on the Web

The central room features a world map made of red glass balls, ignoring political borders and using the Gall-Peters rectangular, equal-area map projection to challenge traditional power dynamics in cartography. —Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 25 Feb. 2026

But those massive datasets didn’t yield the kind of brain cartography that Tasic sought. —Amber Dance, Quanta Magazine, 9 Feb. 2026

The development of European cartography was driven by the Age of Exploration from the 15th to 17th centuries and entrepreneurial activities associated with reproducing and selling maps. —Melinda Laituri, The Conversation, 4 Feb. 2026

In that role, Merchant is focusing on cognitive cartography, a method for structuring complex information into semantic maps that reveal how ideas and concepts relate to one another. —Joanna Goodrich, IEEE Spectrum, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French cartographie, from carte card, map + -graphie -graphy — more at card entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1847, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cartography

• arthrography
• biography
• cosmography
• cryptography
• demography
• discography
• echography
• ethnography
• filmography
• geography
• hydrography
• lithography

Kids Definition

cartography

noun

car·​tog·​ra·​phy kär-ˈtäg-rə-fē 

: the making of maps

cartographic

ˌkärt-ə-ˈgraf-ik 

adjective