land
noun
any part of the earth's surface not covered by a body of water; the part of the earth's surface occupied by continents and islands.
land
1 American
[land]
/ lænd /
noun
-
lands
plural
-
any part of the earth's surface not covered by a body of water; the part of the earth's surface occupied by continents and islands.
Land was sighted from the crow's nest.
-
an area of ground with reference to its nature or composition.
arable land.
-
an area of ground with specific boundaries.
to buy land on which to build a house.
-
rural or farming areas, as contrasted with urban areas.
They left the land for the city.
-
Law.
-
any part of the earth's surface that can be owned as property, and everything annexed to it, whether by nature or by the human hand.
-
any legal interest held in land.
-
-
Economics. natural resources as a factor of production.
-
a part of the surface of the earth marked off by natural or political boundaries or the like; a region or country.
They came from many lands.
-
the people of a region or country
-
Audio. the flat surface between the grooves of a phonograph record.
-
a realm or domain.
the land of the living.
-
a surface between furrows, as on a millstone or on the interior of a rifle barrel.
-
Scot. a tenement house.
verb (used with object)
-
lands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
landed,
past participle, past
-
landing
present participle
-
to bring to or set on land.
to land passengers or goods from a ship; to land an airplane.
-
to bring into or cause to arrive in a particular place, position, or condition.
His behavior will land him in jail.
-
Informal. to catch or capture; gain; win.
to land a job.
-
Angling. to bring (a fish) to land, or into a boat, etc., as with a hook or a net.
verb (used without object)
-
lands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
landed,
past participle, past
-
landing
present participle
-
to come to land or shore.
The boat lands at Cherbourg.
-
to go or come ashore from a ship or boat.
-
to alight upon a surface, as the ground, a body of water, or the like.
to land on both feet.
-
to hit or strike the ground, as from a height.
The ball landed at the far side of the court.
-
to strike and come to rest on a surface or in something.
The golf ball landed in the lake.
-
to come to rest or arrive in a particular place, position, or condition (sometimes followed byup ).
to land in trouble; to land up 40 miles from home.
verb phrase
idioms
-
land / fall on one's feet, feet.
-
see how the land lies, to investigate in advance; inform oneself of the facts of a situation before acting.
You should see how the land lies before making a formal proposal.
Land
2
American
[land]
/ lænd /
noun
-land
3
American
land
1
British
/ lænd /
noun
-
the solid part of the surface of the earth as distinct from seas, lakes, etc
-
-
ground, esp with reference to its use, quality, etc
-
( in combination )
land-grabber
-
-
rural or agricultural areas as contrasted with urban ones
-
farming as an occupation or way of life
-
law
-
any tract of ground capable of being owned as property, together with any buildings on it, extending above and below the surface
-
any hereditament, tenement, or other interest; realty
-
-
-
a country, region, or area
-
the people of a country, etc
-
-
a realm, sphere, or domain
-
economics the factor of production consisting of all natural resources
-
the unindented part of a grooved surface, esp one of the ridges inside a rifle bore
-
the prevailing conditions or state of affairs
verb
-
to transfer (something) or go from a ship or boat to the shore
land the cargo
-
(intr) to come to or touch shore
-
to come down or bring (something) down to earth after a flight or jump
-
to come or bring to some point, condition, or state
-
(tr) angling to retrieve (a hooked fish) from the water
-
informal (tr) to win or obtain
to land a job
-
informal (tr) to deliver (a blow)
Land
2
British
/ lant /
noun
Land
3
British
/ lænd /
noun
land
More Idioms
Usage
What does -land mean? The combining form -land is used like a suffix meaning “land.” It is occasionally used in everyday and technical terms. The form -land comes from Old English.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
landsimple
-
landssimple
-
have landedperfect
-
has landedperfect
-
am landingprogressive
-
are landingprogressive
-
is landingprogressive
-
have been landingperfect progressive
-
has been landingperfect progressive
Past
-
landedsimple
-
had landedperfect
-
was landingprogressive
-
were landingprogressive
-
had been landingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of land
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse, Gothic land; akin to Irish lann “open space,” Welsh llan “church” (originally “enclosure”), Breton lann “heath.” See lawn 1
Explanation
Use the noun land to talk about the solid ground under your feet. It's nice to put your feet on dry land after a long trip in a sailboat. People who are afraid of flying are usually overjoyed to land on the land after hours in the sky — land is also a verb meaning "to settle down on the ground." You can use the word land, as well, to describe a government or ruler's territory: "He rules over the land between those mountains and the rocky coast." The words for land are the same in English, German, and Dutch, as the root is the Germanic landom.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ukrainian forces use land drones to perform some of the most dangerous tasks on the battlefield.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The site, which Fermi calls Project Matador, is on former grazing land owned by the Texas Tech University System and covers an area more than half the size of Manhattan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The length of the totality on land will make next year's eclipse remarkable, says Dr Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Climate change, land use pressures and drought would all have to be reckoned with.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Even if there were a doctor among the land rushers, they’d be journeying on.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Land monetization should also support earnings, with recent deals expected to boost 2H profit, she reckons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The development group, using an entity called Albania Land Development, paid €110 million, equivalent to $125 million, to Shehu for his land in April, prosecutors in the money-laundering case against Shehu said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“He’s playing better than most of the professional pianists I’ve worked with,” says Hurwitz, who regularly conducts “La La Land in Concert.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The court heard Jaguar Land Rover was forced to allocate £50m in marketing costs to counter the adverse publicity, resulting from the press coverage of Owen's claims.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
He pictured his father on the journey to the Land of the Dead -the land where arrows are plentiful, and the hunt· never fails.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
"We have large, sizable, fertile -land and good water," says Shihab.
From Time Magazine Archive
Shells, colour of, affected by light. -from Van Diemen's land. -land, extinct, at St. Helena. -particles of, drifted by the wind at St. Helena.
From Volcanic Islands by Charles Darwin
Phil also knew a thing or two about developing young talent from unlikely lands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Pericana lands dark and red and glistening with oil, a spread for bread made with sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, and cured fish.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
It's an exciting time for collectors, whether they're looking for never-before-seen designs, classic shirts reimagined or niche releases from far-flung lands to impress their colleagues at five-a-side.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Al-Dabba himself lost some 400 hives, which he had kept in agricultural lands east of Gaza City.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
I step left, and my foot lands on something hard.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
After past snubs, social-media site Reddit has landed a spot on the S&P 500, sending shares on an after-hours rally Thursday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
American said both regional jets’ crews followed controller clearances and that the flights landed safely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
She landed her first big role in 2016 on the British TV series “Delicious.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Trump then flew to the UK en route to the US, where he reboarded the old Air Force One and was seen descending from the aircraft after it landed at RAF Mildenhall.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
A pixie landed on my hand and I swatted it away.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Alcott explained that she initially went back to jump again after her difficult landing, out of "embarassment" and "just so I wasn't making a big deal out of it".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
His goals are high, and he feels the Buckeyes are the perfect landing place to fulfill his dreams.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He was seen as largely responsible for China's "soft landing" -- reducing inflation without causing a recession -- after it experienced runaway growth following Deng's renewed push to open up in the 1990s.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Mr. Trump flew out of Turkey secretly on a military jet and then was returned to the original Air Force One after landing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
He found the window with the broken latch and slipped through, landing soundlessly on the other side.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
