crash-land

American

[krash-land] / ˈkræʃˈlænd /

verb (used with object)

to land (an aircraft), under circumstances in which a normal landing land is impossible, in such a way that damage to the aircraft is unavoidable.

verb (used without object)

to crash-land an aircraft.

crash-land British

verb

to land (an aircraft) in an emergency causing damage or (of an aircraft) to land in this way

"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

crash-landing noun

Etymology

Origin of crash-land

First recorded in 1940–45; crash ¹ + land

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.

There’s a more than 1% chance the asteroid will make its way toward Earth and crash-land on the planet in December 2032.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2025

Another study showed that a group of frogs called pumpkin toadlets had become so small that the fluid-filled canals in their ears that confer balance no longer functioned properly, causing them to crash-land when jumping.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024

Both characters are humanoids from faraway planets who crash-land on Earth.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2023

Why did a Nazi leader crash-land in Scotland?

From BBC • Jul. 29, 2022

They’re made out of some kind of astronaut plastic that could crash-land on Venus and not break.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023