headland
Americannoun
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headlands
plural
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a promontory extending into a large body of water.
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a strip of unplowed land at the ends of furrows or near a fence or border.
noun
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a narrow area of land jutting out into a sea, lake, etc
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a strip of land along the edge of an arable field left unploughed to allow space for machines
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of headland
before 1000; Middle English hedeland, Old English hēafodland. See head, land
Vocabulary lists containing headland
Physical Geography - Middle School
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
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Physical Geography - High School
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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:
A handwritten label indicated she had been found near the Beachy Head headland sometime in the 1950s, but little additional information was available.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 25, 2026
Gibraltar, which is a British Overseas Territory, is a 2.6 square mile headland to the south of Spain.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025
The inexorable wonder-workings of geology — with a fanciful nod to Poseidon, the god of earthquakes and oceans — created that stunning headland that juts its chin out into the Pacific from Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
A rust-colored dome looms over the muddy farmland of Hinkley Point, a headland overlooking the Bristol Channel in southwest England.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
When she still hadn’t reached the land by nightfall—it stretched away from a headland and was covered with tall trees—Nhamo burst into noisy sobs.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Whales and elephant seals glide through the shimmering water, while bears and mountain lions patrol the misty headlands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
Rip currents are often harmless, but around large headlands or piers - like Bournemouth Pier - they can be powerful.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2023
At Washington’s most beloved state park, there’s lots to do beyond the bridge: bays, lakes, beaches and headlands beckon.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
Their bonfires lit the rocky headlands when Ferdinand Magellan, the first European to sail these waters, landed in Tierra del Fuego in 1520.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2022
The opening between the headlands seemed a remote, bright gateway when he glanced back.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
