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Synonyms

inland

American  
[in-luhnd, in-land, -luhnd] / ˈɪn lənd, ˈɪnˌlænd, -lənd /

adjective

  1. pertaining to or situated in the interior part of a country or region.

    inland cities.

  2. British. domestic or internal.

    inland revenue.


adverb

  1. in or toward the interior of a country.

noun

  1. the interior part of a country.

inland British  

adjective

  1. of, concerning, or located in the interior of a country or region away from a sea or border

  2. operating within a country or region; domestic; not foreign

"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

noun

  1. the interior of a country or region

"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

adverb

  1. towards or into the interior of a country or region

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of inland

before 950; Middle English, Old English; see in- 1, land

Explanation

Inland means far away from the ocean, or in the very middle of a country. If you were born and grew up in Kansas, you're familiar with inland living. The opposite of inland is coastal. When you travel to the rocky coast of Maine or the soft sandy beaches of Florida, you're far from being inland — you return to your inland home town when you fly back to Gary, Indiana. Inland comes from the Old English inn lond, "land around the mansion of an estate," and it began to mean "land far from the coast" in the 16th century.

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Vocabulary lists containing inland

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:

The shortage of fresh water and a process of salinisation, as seawater pushes inland through the river network, have affected the entire country.

From Barron's Aug. 15, 2026

Named after the seaside town, the Clacton constituency also includes relatively affluent Frinton-on-Sea, England's most-deprived neighbourhood of Jaywick, and villages and farms inland.

From BBC Aug. 14, 2026

After the American Revolution, many settlers moving inland resisted naming new communities after British places.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 11, 2026

CMA CGM said it would impose low-water surcharges on container shipments to Brazil’s inland port of Manaus, with vessel-draft limitations expected to reduce transport capacity on the Amazon River.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 10, 2026

Olmsted dismissed the inland sites out of hand as being flat and monotonous and too far from the lake.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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