geography

noun ge·og·ra·phy \ jē-ˈä-grə-fē \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

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 1

her emotional geography

See geography defined for English-language learners

See geography defined for kids

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 of geography from the Web

This bid to establish a European outpost off what is now the coast of North Carolina was doomed by ignorance of the basic facts of geography, geology and geopolitics.

— The Economist, "The tale of the “Lost Colony” is a chronicle of delusion," 7 June 2018
The selection committee will seed the top 16 teams and then pair them accordingly, not setting up the super regionals based primarily on geography.

— OregonLive.com, "High stakes for Oregon State baseball against UCLA; projecting Pac-12 award winners," 24 May 2018
Sharing stories from inside the building helps lighten the burden of unspeakable memories, said Jason Leavy, who was in his freshman geography class during the attack.

— jennifer kay, Washington Post, "Poetry, film, maps: Parkland students quietly process trauma," 15 May 2018
For Bruna, that should mean starting with geography class, but her teacher, Scott Beigel, is gone.

— the washington post, cleveland.com, "'I'm never going to be the same': Students set to return to shattered Florida school," 27 Feb. 2018
James Ciaramello was in geography class when the alarm sounded.

— allen g. breed, The Seattle Times, "ROTC leader shocked that accused school shooter 1 of his own," 18 Feb. 2018
This would figure to curb the formation of NCAA super regional matchups based on geography (Louisville vs. Kentucky last season, for instance), but the four-team regionals in the tournament's first weekend would be another story.

— gentry estes, The Courier-Journal, "Indiana, Kentucky and Louisville could share an NCAA baseball regional," 8 May 2018
But the comparisons between Minnesota and Wisconsin have been especially inviting because of the states have so much in common in their geography, size, heritage, culture and even political history.

— craig gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Minnesota outpaces Wisconsin, report says, in latest volley over liberal vs. conservative policies," 8 May 2018
Seoul's presidential Blue House presented a menu for the summit, to be attended by Moon, North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, and other senior figures from both sides, that leaned heavily on geography.

— gavin blair, latimes.com, "It's not just dessert: On eve of Korea summit, a mango mousse's map throws Japan out of joint," 26 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'geography.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of geography

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

geography Synonyms

Synonyms

geomorphology, landscape, terrain, topography;

Related Words

scenery;

ground, land, landform, terrane, terrene;

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

GEOGRAPHY Defined for English Language Learners

geography

noun

: an area of study that deals with the location of countries, cities, rivers, mountains, lakes, etc.
: the natural features (such as rivers, mountains, etc.) of a place