Skip to main content
book of maps

book of maps

2.1
A set of maps that show different places
  • noun
translation icon : atlas
  • The book of maps includes detailed city layouts.

Examples

  • The library has an old book of maps from the eighteenth century.

  • I bought a book of maps for my trip.

  • He always keeps a book of maps in his car for road trips.

  • We used a book of maps to find our way through the mountains.

  • The teacher provided each student with a book of maps to help them learn about different countries.

  • During our road trip, we relied on a book of maps to navigate to various state parks.

  • In the library, I found an old book of maps that detailed the geography of the region over a century ago.

Synonyms

atlas
vsbook of maps
1 2.7

A book of maps that shows countries, cities, and seas

is a general label for a volume that gathers maps
map collection
vsbook of maps
1 3.0

A group of maps kept together, often in a book

is specifically a single published volume presenting maps rather than any grouped set

How Comprehensive

atlas
1 2.7
book of maps
2.1

Surface Forms

book of maps singular
books of maps plural

Morphology

book + of + map

The meaning 'a book containing maps' is directly and compositionally derived from 'book' (a bound set of pages) + 'of' (marking content/partitive) + 'maps' (charts). This noun + of + noun pattern indicating container or content is cross-linguistically common (e.g., 'libro de mapas', 'livre de cartes'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Book of maps comes from the literal idea of a book full of maps that travelers used to plan trips and find places. So it simply means 'a book containing maps'.