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 of geography

• topography
• landscape
• terrain

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

After persevering through all seven terraces, master and pupil emerge at the top of the mountain, which, in Dante’s sacred geography, is the location of the Garden of Eden, the last cleansing stop before Paradise. —Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Ultimately, on fossil fuels, the summit made clear that the energy transition will be a fractured process that moves at different speeds in different geographies. —Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 22 Nov. 2025

Studies included weather conditions inherent to the specific geography of the areas, native and invasive vegetation, utilities companies, and agencies that service the areas were also analyzed in the report. —Julie Sharp, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2025

In this Future of Business series, IdeaCast hosts Alison Beard and Adi Ignatius sat down with four leading CEOs who manage across different industries and geographies to understand where global business is going. —Harvard Business Review, 20 Nov. 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

Rhymes for geography

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

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