topographical

adjective

to·​po·​graph·​i·​cal ˌtä-pə-ˈgra-fi-kəl 

ˌtō-

1

: topographic

2

: of, relating to, or concerned with the artistic representation of a particular locality

a topographical poem

topographical painting

topographically

ˌtä-pə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē 

ˌtō-

adverb

Examples of topographical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This was done three times per hill, each wall beginning where the previous one stopped but positioned to follow the direction that represents the most rapid topographical decline. — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026

Squaring off the land required property lines and related roads to perform a sort of topographical parkour, running straight over hills and across rivers. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Feldman hopes the exhibition, which spans fine-line drawings of entangled lovers and radiant topographical tapestries, will complicate that familiar account. — Tara Anne Dalbow, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026

Whereas at the Lucas Museum, the veteran local landscape designer Mia Lehrer has conducted a lesson in topographical storytelling with regional vegetation that draws on California’s varied terrain. — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for topographical

• biographical
• epigraphical
• ethnographical
• geographical
• petrographical
• stratigraphical
• typographical
• autobiographical
• biogeographical
• graphical
• historiographical
• iconographical

Medical Definition

topographical

adjective

topo·​graph·​i·​cal ˌtäp-ə-ˈgraf-i-kəl 

variants or topographic

-ik 

1

: of, relating to, or concerned with topography

topographical correspondences between the skin and the cortex

—F. A. Geldard

2

: of or relating to a mind made up of different strata and especially of the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

topographically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb