badlands
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of badlands
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; bad 1 + land + -s 3; translation of French mauvaises terres, alluding to the difficulty in traversing such country
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.
It’s also Robby’s final day of work before embarking on a three-month motorcycle road trip set to take him from Pittsburgh to the Canadian badlands.
From Salon • Jan. 8, 2026
"The badlands in Wyoming where the finds were made is a unique 'mummy zone' that has more surprises in store from fossils collected over years of visits by teams of university undergrads."
From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025
The fossil was discovered in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, which is home to badlands and unique rock formations and is largely overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management.
From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2022
To the south, the green banks of the Colorado River stand out against the scrubby badlands.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2022
The bajada beneath the badlands is open country cut by steep-walled arroyos.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
