badlands

[ bad-landz ]

plural noun

1. a barren area in which soft rock strata are eroded into varied, fantastic forms.

badlands

/ ˈbædˌlændz /

plural noun

1. any deeply eroded barren area

Word History and Origins

Origin of badlands¹

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

The Daily Beast found out with the help of nationally ranked competitive eater Eric ‘Badlands’ Booker.

From The Daily Beast

Badlands ate, slowly at first; this was a casual snack after all, not a contest.

From The Daily Beast

Rank be damned, 45-year-old Badlands still looks hungry to me, and manages to gobble 12 plates in all, with grace.

From The Daily Beast

Badlands is has got to be pushing 300 pounds and is one of the few really hyperadiposic entrants.

From The Daily Beast

She received a life sentence for her part in a killing spree that inspired a Springsteen song and the movie Badlands.

From The Daily Beast

All have had to cross their Badlands, ride roughshod above the timberline or grab for cover to avoid a ricochet.

From Project Gutenberg

Along a makeshift road into the badlands trucks brought crushed lime and phosphorus to supplement the ocean sediment.

From Project Gutenberg

All the raids along the east coast; everybody's blamed them on the Badlands gangs.

From Project Gutenberg

And a variegated mass in the distance marked the Rainbow Buttes, rising isolated and alone from out the badlands.

From Project Gutenberg

The least chipmunk is common in the buttes and associated badlands where it most frequently inhabits rocky areas.

From Project Gutenberg