worldbuilding

alternative world-building · alternative world building

1. uncountablefictionThe conception and description of a fictional world, often as the setting of a work of fiction, particularly in speculative fiction.

   A sequel of this magnitude has the ability to reach higher, though, with more creative worldbuilding balancing out the dime-a-dozen pop culture references and cheap gags.

   2025 November 25, Caroline Siede, “Zootopia 2 is a stagnant sequel with one stellar subplot”, in AV Club

   2 more examples

   The purpose of worldbuilding isn't just to do a cool exercise, but to give a sense of place — and all of your thought experiments absolutely have to result in something vivid and alive.

   2013 February 8, Charlie Jane Anders, “7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding”, in io9, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2016

   High fantasy of the George RR Martin kind hinges on world-building. When there really is a whole world to build, and not just a historical period or a particular country, world-building does not take a few paragraphs in a short story; it takes chapters.

   2015 May 20, Natasha Pulley, “Fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

2. obsoleteuncountableScientific research into the creation of the Earth and its geological features.
3. obsoleteuncountableThe world of imagination of novelists, poets, etc.