Map Definition: Usage, Meaning, and Examples

The important “map” description can be learned through real-life samples, so let’s check some of them that you can find in daily communication:

Upon diving into this word, you find various situations in which it can be used. Still, putting it twenty times in a small text seems to be unattractive, so here are some alternatives:

Related nouns: cartography plan

Synonyms (contextual): atlas globe

Common collocations: road map online map check the map

You would likely want to expand your vocabulary with other parts of speech that complement the “map’s” meaning.

With adjectives: topographical map interactive map ancient map

With verbs: find a map download a map open a map

With nouns (noun + noun): Earth map road map street map

Special sayings can make your sentences more emotional if your goal is to attract attention from other people. Moreover, you can get more points when writing an essay for your school homework or an exam.

• All over the map — meaning large distances worldwide.

  My fiancé and I had been living all over the map for three years.

• Fall off the map — the drop of popularity for series, people, trends, and so on.

  He was a member of the school band, which fell off the map after the first album.

• To lay down a road map — make a clear plan, like a straight road, with all points defined.

  I was accepted to the dream university thanks to my mom. She laid down a road map for me.

Reading so far, you already know how to define a “map,” so it is time to ensure this word is scribed in your mind with a little engaging activity from our experts.

Many learners believe that studying a word in other popular languages will make you understand it better in English. Here are three of them to expand your vision: 

Making your vocabulary study more engaging means you need to fill it with remarkable moments, just like the facts you will learn below.

• The Babylonian Map of the World is the oldest map worldwide.

  Dated between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE, this map shows the area of ancient Mesopotamia and contains much information that was hard to translate.

• Jones Live Maps were game-changing for people’s daily lives.

  Real-time navigation was a dream until 1912, when the “accurate guide” was presented for drivers, making it possible to follow routes more easily.

• Mapmakers place “paper towns” on maps to protect their copyrights.

  Sometimes fake places appear on maps — not by mistake but as a way to protect intellectual property. These fictional names help identify plagiarism if someone copies the map.

Such phrases from famous people make new words more memorable, so today, you will get some of them to define a “map” and the contexts in which it can be used.

— Heidi Heilig, “The Girl from Everywhere”

Explanation: This quote is quite sad and hits us with the reality — so many places are gone without us even knowing, or maybe they are empty now because they only existed in our heads, and we have no space for them now. This interpretation is all up to you.

— Louise Penny, “A Great Reckoning”

Explanation: Here, maps are presented as a very realistic thing that actually makes people’s lives easier — we can see the direction, be aware of danger around us, and more. For those who need navigation, it becomes a life-changing experience, not just another invention.

— Danielle Binks

Explanation: The author tells us about the paradox we can experience in our childhood, when the distance looks weirdly short on the map, but when you start the journey, it takes hours. That’s how our life can work too: it can be one year that contains events like you have already lived a long life.