Word.ws English Dictionary

the map is not the territory

the map is not the territory proverb: our models of the world, and our sensations of the world, are not the true world.

Proverb

the map is not the territory

  1. Our models of the world, and our sensations of the world, are not the true world.

Origin of the map is not the territory

From general semantics; coined by Alfred Korzybski.

Questions about the map is not the territory

What does the map is not the territory mean?
The map is not the territory means our models of the world, and our sensations of the world, are not the true world.
What part of speech is the map is not the territory?
The map is not the territory is a proverb.

Words near the map is not the territory in the dictionary

  1. the lower 48
  2. the lunatics have taken over the asylum
  3. The Mall
  4. the man
  5. the man, the myth, the legend
  6. the map is not the territory
  7. The Marra
  8. the Massachusetts of Australia
  9. the math ain't mathing
  10. the math is mathing
  11. the Mbappé special

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the map is not the territory (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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