geography

ge·og·ra·phy
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UK/dʒiˈɒɡɹəfi/UK/ˈdʒɒɡɹəfi/US/d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/

noun

The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them.

“Some amount of basic geography is part of any good curriculum for primary and secondary education.”

CommonScrabble 19

Meanings

noungeography (countable and uncountable, plural geographies)

plural geographies

  1. countableuncountableThe study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them.

    Some amount of basic geography is part of any good curriculum for primary and secondary education.

    1 more example

    These days, instead of going off behind the bike shed during recess to learn about sex, kids need to sneak behind the bike shed to do a little bit of closeted geography or closeted Latin.

    2021, Mark Steyn, “Our Increasingly Unrecognizable Civilization”, in Imprimis, volume 50, number 4/5, Hillsdale College, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3
  2. archaiccountableAn atlas or gazetteer.
  3. archaiccountableA description of the earth: a treatise or textbook on geography.
    1 more example

    Geographie is (according to Ptolomei) an imitation of the picture of the vvhole Earth. […] VVe take not the Earth ſimply in its ovvn nature as it is an element, for ſo it belongeth to Philoſophy, but for the terreſtrial Globe, ſo it is the ſubiect of Geographie, and is defined to bee a Sphericall body, proportionably compoſed of earth, and vvater.

    1621, P[eter] H[eylyn], “The Generall Præcognita of Geographie. Terra.”, in Microcosmus, or A Little Description of the Great World. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Iohn Litchfield, and Iames Short printers to the famous Universitie, →OCLC, page 1
  4. countableuncountableTerrain: the physical properties of a region of the earth.

    The geography of the Andes approaches never made transportation easy; routes to Bogota, Quito, La Paz, and Cuzco were so precipitous as to slow down the development of those Spanish cities in the interior.

    1973, Helen Miller Bailey, Abraham Phineas Nasatir, Latin America: the development of its civilization
  5. countableuncountableAny subject considered in terms of its physical distribution.
  6. countableuncountableastronomySimilar books, studies, or regions concerning other planets.
  7. countableuncountableThe physical arrangement of any place, particularly (UK, slang) a house.

    Synonyms: loo

  8. countableeuphemisticuncountablechiefly upper-class UKThe lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.

    The Business Man Jocular: ‘I say, where's the geography, old son?’

    1967 December 21, The Listener, page 802
  9. countablefigurativelyuncountableThe relative arrangement of the parts of anything.

    The actual geography of the murderous mind is still a mystery.

  10. countableuncountablebusinessA territory: a geographical area as a field of business or market sector.

    We currently operate only in EU countries but we're building prototype services for various geographies.

    Synonyms: geo

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe physical arrangement of any place, particularly (UK, slang) a house.

Similar

nounA territory: a geographical area as a field of business or market sector.

Similar
Broader

More synonyms by meaning

nounstudy of the earth's surface; includes people's responses to topography and climate and soil and vegetation

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Hellenic*gaya
  2. Ancient Greekγαῖᾰ (gaîă)clip.
  3. Ancient Greekγῆ (gê)
  4. Ancient Greekγεω- (geō-)
  5. Proto-Indo-European*gerbʰ-
  6. Proto-Hellenic*grə́pʰō
  7. Ancient Greekγράφω (gráphō)
  8. Ancient Greekγεωγρᾰ́φος (geōgrắphos)
  9. Ancient Greekγεω- (geō-)
  10. Ancient Greekγρᾰ́φω (grắphō)
  11. Ancient Greekγραφή (graphḗ)
  12. Ancient Greekγεωγρᾰφῐ́ᾱ (geōgrăphĭ́ā)
  13. Latingeōgraphia
  14. Middle Frenchgéographie
  15. Englishgeography

From Middle French géographie, from Latin geōgraphia, from Ancient Greek γεωγραφία (geōgraphía, “a description of the earth”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write”). Doublet of geographia. Use in reference to lavatories derives from the mid-20th century euphemism "show one the geography of the house" in reference to pointing out the toilets.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans geografie, aardrykskunde
  • geografiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • aardrykskundestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Ancient Greek γεωγραφία
  • γεωγραφία (geōgraphía)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Arabic جُغْرَافِيَا
  • جُغْرَافِيَا (juḡrāfiyā)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Basque geografia
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Bengali ভূগোল
  • ভূগোল (bhugōl)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Bulgarian геогра́фия
  • геогра́фия (geográfija)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Catalan geografia
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Chinese Cantonese 地理學 /地理学
  • 地理學 /地理学 (dei⁶ lei⁵ hok⁶)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Chinese Mandarin 地理學 /地理学
  • 地理學 /地理学 (dìlǐxué)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Czech zeměpis, geografie
  • zeměpisstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • geografiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Danish geografi
  • geografistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Dutch geografie, aardrijkskunde
  • geografiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • aardrijkskundestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Esperanto geografio
  • geografiostudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Estonian geograafia, maateadus
  • geograafiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • maateadusstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Finnish maantiede, maantieto
  • maantiedestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • maantietostudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
French géographie
  • géographiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
German Geografie, Geographie
  • Geografiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • Geographiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • Erdkundestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Greek γεωγραφία
  • γεωγραφία (geografía)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Hawaiian hōʻike honua
  • hōʻike honuastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Hebrew גֵּאוֹגְרַפְיָה
  • גֵּאוֹגְרַפְיָה (geográfya)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Hindi भूगोल
  • भूगोल (bhūgol)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Hungarian természetföldrajz, földrajz
  • természetföldrajzstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • földrajzstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • földrajztudománystudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • geográfiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Icelandic landafræði, landfræði
  • landafræðistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • landfræðistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Indonesian geografi
  • geografistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Irish tíreolaíocht
  • tíreolaíochtstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Italian geografia
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Japanese 地理学
  • 地理学 (chirigaku)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Korean 지리학
  • 지리학 (jirihak)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Latin geographia
  • geographiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Latvian ģeogrāfija
  • ģeogrāfijastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Lithuanian geografija
  • geografijastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Malay geografi, ilmu alam
  • geografistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • ilmu alamstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Māori mātai matawhenua, mātauranga whenua
  • mātai matawhenuastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • mātauranga whenuastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Norwegian Bokmål geografi
  • geografistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Persian گیتاشناسی, جغرافیا
  • گیتاشناسی (gitâ-šenâsi)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • جغرافیا (joġrâfiyâ)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Polish geografia, ziemiopismo
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • ziemiopismostudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Portuguese geografia
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Punjabi ਭੂਗੋਲ
  • ਭੂਗੋਲ (bhūgol)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Romanian geografie, ӂеографие
  • geografiestudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • ӂеографие (geografie)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Russian геогра́фия
  • геогра́фия (geográfija)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Scottish Gaelic cruinn-eòlas
  • cruinn-eòlasstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Slovak zemepis, geografia
  • zemepisstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • geografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Spanish geografía
  • geografíastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Swahili jiografia
  • jiografiastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Swedish geografi
  • geografistudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Tagalog taladutaan, heograpiya
  • taladutaanstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • heograpiyastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Tamil புவியியல்
  • புவியியல் (puviyiyal)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Thai ภูมิศาสตร์
  • ภูมิศาสตร์ (puu-mí-sàat)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Turkish coğrafya
  • coğrafyastudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Ukrainian геогра́фія, земле́пис
  • геогра́фія (heohráfija)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • земле́пис (zemlépys)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Urdu بھوگول, جغرافیہ
  • بھوگول (bhūgol)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
  • جغرافیہ (juġrāfiya)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Vietnamese địa lý học
  • địa lý họcstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Welsh daearyddiaeth
  • daearyddiaethstudy of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth
Yiddish געאָגראַפֿיע
  • געאָגראַפֿיע (geografye)study of physical structure and inhabitants of the Earth

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with geography

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

geography. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/geography

MLA

“geography.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/geography. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “geography,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/geography.

Source: geography on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.