Meaning & use
cartographer
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Meaning
nouncountablespecialist
A person who designs and produces maps, often as a profession.
Grammar: Countable: a cartographer, several cartographers.
Patterns
- a cartographer for something
- a cartographer of something
The cartographer spent weeks checking the coastline on the new map.
Early cartographers often filled empty areas with sea monsters.
She trained as a cartographer before moving into satellite imaging.
Word forms
| plural | cartographers |
|---|
Common combinations
- skilled cartographer
- A skilled cartographer can show hills with simple lines.
- medieval cartographer
- The medieval cartographer drew Jerusalem at the center.
- cartographer's map
- The cartographer's map was unusually detailed.
- work as a cartographer
- He works as a cartographer for a mapping agency.
- digital cartographer
- A digital cartographer builds maps from satellite data.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mapmaker
- Mapmaker is the plain everyday word; cartographer is more professional and technical.
- surveyor
- A surveyor measures land on site, while a cartographer turns such data into maps.
- geographer
- A geographer studies places and people broadly, not necessarily drawing maps.
Word family
- cartography noun
- the art and science of making maps
- cartographic adjective
- relating to maps or mapmaking
- cartographically adverb
- in a way that relates to mapmaking
Commonly confused: cartographer or calligrapher? cartographer or topographer?
cartographer vs calligrapher
A calligrapher is an expert in decorative handwriting, while a cartographer makes maps.
cartographer vs topographer
A topographer records physical land features; a cartographer is the one who presents them on maps.
Practice
Who would be most likely to design the official map of a national park?
Choose one answer.
A cartographer makes maps. A cartoonist is a lookalike word, and archivists and curators handle collections.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cartographer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.