map
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A drawing that shows where places are and how they relate
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mapIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmæp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A visual representation of an area, whether real or imaginary, showing the relative positions of places and other features.
A graphical or logical representation of any structure or system, showing the positions of or relationships between its components.
board gamesvideo games
An imaginary or fictional area, often predefined and confined, where a game or a session thereof takes place.
Acronym of methyl-acetylene propadiene.
verb
Make a map of; show or establish the features of details of
Depict as if on a map
“Sorrow was mapped on the mother's face.”
transitive
To represent by means of a map.
Explore or survey for the purpose of making a map
“We haven't even begun to map the many galaxies that we know exist.”
transitive
To create a map of; to examine or survey in order to gather information for a map.
intransitivefollowed by a "to" phrase
To have a direct relationship; to correspond.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A visual representation of an area, whether real or imaginary, showing the relative positions of places and other features.
Used this way, map is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Depictverb
“Sorrow was mapped on the mother's face.”
Exploreverb
“We haven't even begun to map the many galaxies that we know exist.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Visual / graphical
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A map having contour lines through points of equal elevation.
The process of locating genes on a chromosome.
A map that uses graded differences in shading or color or the placing of symbols inside defined areas on the map in order to indicate the average values of some property or quantity in…
A collection of maps in book form.
Graphical representation of the arrangement of genes on a chromosome.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.