Meaning & use
geography
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Meanings
noununcountable
The subject that studies the earth's surface, its climates, land and seas, and how people live in and change those places.
Grammar: Singular and uncountable: geography is my favorite subject.
Patterns
- study geography
- a geography teacher
In geography we learned how rivers carve valleys.
She went to university to study geography and planning.
Our geography homework was to draw a map of Africa.
nounsingular
The way the natural features and layout of a particular place are arranged, such as hills, rivers and streets.
Grammar: Often with the: the geography of the island.
Patterns
- the geography of somewhere
It took me a month to learn the geography of the new city.
The geography of the valley made farming difficult.
Soldiers studied the geography of the coast before landing.
nounsingularfigurative
The way something is spread across different places or groups, as in how a disease or business is distributed.
Grammar: Used figuratively with of: the geography of poverty.
Patterns
- the geography of something
Researchers mapped the geography of the flu outbreak.
The changing geography of work means more people stay home.
Analysts studied the geography of voting in the region.
Common combinations
- physical geography
- Physical geography covers mountains, rivers and climate.
- human geography
- Human geography looks at how cities grow.
- political geography
- Wars often change political geography.
- local geography
- A good taxi driver knows the local geography by heart.
- geography lesson
- Our geography lesson was held outdoors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- terrain
- Terrain means the physical ground and its features, while geography is both a subject and the overall layout.
- topography
- Topography focuses on the shape and elevation of land, in a more technical way than geography.
- layout
- Layout describes how things are arranged in a space, often a building, whereas geography suggests natural and large-scale features.
- cartography
- Cartography is the art and science of making maps, only one part of geography.
Word family
- geographer noun
- an expert in geography
- geographic adjective
- relating to geography; geographical is the longer form
- geographically adverb
- in terms of place or location
- geopolitics noun
- politics influenced by geographical factors
Commonly confused: geography or geology? geography or geometry?
geography vs geology
Geology studies rocks and the earth's structure, while geography studies surface features and how people relate to them.
geography vs geometry
Geometry is the branch of math about shapes and space; it is not about places on earth.
Practice
Which subject would best help you understand why a city grew beside a river?
Choose one answer.
Geography covers how places, rivers and human settlement relate. Geology deals with rocks and earth structure, while geometry and etymology (word origins) are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “geography”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.