Meaning & use
geocaching
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
An outdoor hobby where people use GPS coordinates to find hidden containers called geocaches.
Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or a plural: 'We went geocaching.' Not 'a geocaching'.
Patterns
- go geocaching
- try geocaching
- be into geocaching
On weekends, my family goes geocaching in the hills near our town.
She discovered geocaching through a phone app and now does it every holiday.
Geocaching combines hiking with the excitement of a treasure hunt.
Common combinations
- go geocaching
- Let's go geocaching this afternoon if the weather stays clear.
- try geocaching
- If you like puzzles and walking, you should try geocaching.
- geocaching app
- The geocaching app shows caches hidden within a few kilometers.
- geocaching community
- The local geocaching community meets once a month to swap stories.
Synonyms and how they differ
- letterboxing
- A similar outdoor hunt, but it uses clues and a stamp rather than GPS coordinates, so it fits when no device is involved.
- treasure hunting
- A broader term for searching for valuable items; geocaching is a modern, GPS-based form of it but usually involves small, low-value objects.
Word family
- geocache noun
- The hidden container itself that players look for.
- geocacher noun
- A person who takes part in geocaching.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'geocaching' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Geocaching' is an uncountable noun, so it takes no article and no plural: 'went geocaching' is correct. Option 1 wrongly adds 'a', option 2 wrongly adds a plural '-s', and option 3 mixes 'yesterday' with 'ago', which is not used with a simple past time expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “geocaching”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.