gazetteer: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Formal, Academic, Technical
Quick answer
What does “gazetteer” mean?
A geographical dictionary or index listing and describing places, usually alphabetically.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A geographical dictionary or index listing and describing places, usually alphabetically.
Historically, a newspaper (obsolete). In modern GIS and cartography, a structured dataset of named places with their coordinates and attributes.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in core meaning. The term is equally technical in both varieties.
Connotations
In the UK, there's a stronger historical association with the 19th-century publication 'The Gazetteer's or Newsman's Interpreter'. In the US, it's more purely associated with geography/GIS.
Frequency
Equally low-frequency in both dialects, confined to specialist fields.
Grammar
How to Use “gazetteer” in a Sentence
[the/this] gazetteer [lists/contains/identifies] [places/names/locations]a gazetteer of [country/region]to look up [a place] in the gazetteerVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “gazetteer” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The location was gazetteered in the 1920s survey.
- The agency plans to gazetteer all historic sites in the county.
American English
- The newly incorporated town was officially gazetteered last month.
- Our software can automatically gazetteer points from the spreadsheet.
adverb
British English
- None standard.
American English
- None standard.
adjective
British English
- The gazetteer information was crucial for the historical research.
- He relied on gazetteer data for his thesis.
American English
- The gazetteer file was imported into the GIS.
- She checked the gazetteer entry for accuracy.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare. Possibly in travel, logistics, or real estate for location data.
Academic
Common in geography, history, cartography, and library science.
Everyday
Virtually never used.
Technical
Core term in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for a spatial database of named places.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “gazetteer”
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “gazetteer”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “gazetteer”
- Misspelling: 'gazzeteer', 'gazeteer'.
- Pronouncing it as /ˈɡæz.ɪ.tɪər/ (stress on first syllable). Correct stress is on the last syllable.
- Using it to mean a regular newspaper.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. An atlas is a collection of maps, while a gazetteer is a textual dictionary or index of place names, often with descriptions and coordinates, but not necessarily with maps.
Yes, though it's specialist. In cartography/GIS, 'to gazetteer' means to record or index places in a gazetteer.
It derives from 'gazette' (a newspaper). Historically, some gazetteers were published in newspapers or as supplements to them, hence the name.
No. It is a low-frequency, technical term used mainly in geography, history, and library science. The average person rarely encounters or uses it.
A geographical dictionary or index listing and describing places, usually alphabetically.
Gazetteer is usually formal, academic, technical in register.
Gazetteer: in British English it is pronounced /ˌɡæz.ɪˈtɪər/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌɡæz.əˈtɪr/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None common”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
"GAZe at the Earth TEERfully" – you gaze at the earth (geography) and tearfully (teer) look up places in a gazetteer.
Conceptual Metaphor
A GAZETTEER IS A MAP IN WORD FORM.
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary modern meaning of 'gazetteer'?