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land

[land] /lænd/
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noun
1.
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.
2.
an area of ground with reference to its nature or composition:
arable land.
3.
an area of ground with specific boundaries:
to buy land on which to build a house.
4.
rural or farming areas, as contrasted with urban areas:
They left the land for the city.
5.
Law.
  1. 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.
  2. any legal interest held in land.
6.
Economics. natural resources as a factor of production.
7.
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.
8.
the people of a region or country.
9.
Audio. the flat surface between the grooves of a phonograph record.
10.
a realm or domain:
the land of the living.
11.
a surface between furrows, as on a millstone or on the interior of a rifle barrel.
12.
Scot. a tenement house.
verb (used with object)
13.
to bring to or set on land:
to land passengers or goods from a ship; to land an airplane.
14.
to bring into or cause to arrive in a particular place, position, or condition:
His behavior will land him in jail.
15.
Informal. to catch or capture; gain; win:
to land a job.
16.
Angling. to bring (a fish) to land, or into a boat, etc., as with a hook or a net.
verb (used without object)
17.
to come to land or shore:
The boat lands at Cherbourg.
18.
to go or come ashore from a ship or boat.
19.
to alight upon a surface, as the ground, a body of water, or the like:
to land on both feet.
20.
to hit or strike the ground, as from a height:
The ball landed at the far side of the court.
21.
to strike and come to rest on a surface or in something:
The golf ball landed in the lake.
22.
to come to rest or arrive in a particular place, position, or condition (sometimes followed by up):
to land in trouble; to land up 40 miles from home.
Verb phrases
23.
land on, Informal. to reprimand; criticize:
His mother landed on him for coming home so late.
Idioms
24.
land / fall on one's feet. feet (def 3).
25.
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.
Compare lay of the land.
Origin of land
Middle English
Old English
900
before 900; Middle English (noun and v.), Old English (noun); cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse, Gothic land; akin to Irish lann, Welsh llan church (orig. enclosure), Breton lann heath. See lawn1
Related forms
landlike, adjective
reland, verb
underland, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for lands
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

  • They were the heroes of other lands; but have we not heroes also of our own?

    Explorations in Australia John Forrest

  • In close connexion with the Survey and lands Department is the topic of exploration.

    Explorations in Australia John Forrest

  • Many were the messages of regard and condolence that came from other lands.

    The Grand Old Man Richard B. Cook

  • She lies athwart the lands, and her shadow is over the seas.

    The White Company Arthur Conan Doyle

  • Just now you spoke of your Essex lands in the fair Vale of Dedham as gone.

    Fair Margaret H. Rider Haggard
British Dictionary definitions for lands

lands

/lændz/
plural noun
1.
holdings in land
2.
(South African) the part of a farm on which crops are grown

land

/lænd/
noun
1.
the solid part of the surface of the earth as distinct from seas, lakes, etc related adjective terrestrial
2.
  1. ground, esp with reference to its use, quality, etc
  2. (in combination): land-grabber
3.
rural or agricultural areas as contrasted with urban ones
4.
farming as an occupation or way of life
5.
(law)
  1. any tract of ground capable of being owned as property, together with any buildings on it, extending above and below the surface
  2. any hereditament, tenement, or other interest; realty
6.
  1. a country, region, or area
  2. the people of a country, etc
7.
a realm, sphere, or domain
8.
(economics) the factor of production consisting of all natural resources
9.
the unindented part of a grooved surface, esp one of the ridges inside a rifle bore
10.
how the land lies, the prevailing conditions or state of affairs
verb
11.
to transfer (something) or go from a ship or boat to the shore: land the cargo
12.
(intransitive) to come to or touch shore
13.
to come down or bring (something) down to earth after a flight or jump
14.
to come or bring to some point, condition, or state
15.
(transitive) (angling) to retrieve (a hooked fish) from the water
16.
(transitive) (informal) to win or obtain: to land a job
17.
(transitive) (informal) to deliver (a blow)
See also lands, land up, land with
Derived Forms
landless, adjective
landlessness, noun
Word Origin
Old English; compare Old Norse, Gothic land, Old High German lant

Land1

/lænd/
noun
1.
Edwin Herbert. 1909–91, US inventor of the Polaroid Land camera

Land2

/lant/
noun (pl) Länder (ˈlɛndər)
1.
  1. any of the federal states of Germany
  2. any of the provinces of Austria
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for lands

land

n.

Old English land, lond, "ground, soil," also "definite portion of the earth's surface, home region of a person or a people, territory marked by political boundaries," from Proto-Germanic *landom (cf. Old Norse, Old Frisian Dutch, German, Gothic land), from PIE *lendh- "land, heath" (cf. Old Irish land, Middle Welsh llan "an open space," Welsh llan "enclosure, church," Breton lann "heath," source of French lande; Old Church Slavonic ledina "waste land, heath," Czech lada "fallow land").

Etymological evidence and Gothic use indicates the original sense was "a definite portion of the earth's surface owned by an individual or home of a nation." Meaning early extended to "solid surface of the earth," which had been the sense of the root of Modern English earth. Original sense of land in English is now mostly found under country. To take the lay of the land is a nautical expression. In the American English exclamation land's sakes (1846) land is a euphemism for Lord.

land

v.1

"to bring to land," early 13c., from land (n.). Originally of ships; of fish, in the angling sense, from 1610s; hence figurative sense of "to obtain" (a job, etc.), first recorded 1854. Of aircraft, attested from 1916. Related: Landed; landing.

land

v.2

"to make contact, to hit home" (of a blow, etc.), by 1881, perhaps altered from lend in a playful sense, or else an extension of land (v.1).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Idioms and Phrases with lands

land

also see:
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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