heartland
Americannoun
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the part of a region considered essential to the viability and survival of the whole, especially a central land area relatively invulnerable to attack and capable of economic and political self-sufficiency.
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any central area, as of a state, nation, or continent.
a vineyard in California's heartland.
noun
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the central region of a country or continent
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the core or most vital area
the industrial heartland of England
Etymology
Origin of heartland
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.
Southern Lebanon is the heartland of Lebanon's Shia Muslim community, Hezbollah's main support base.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
KwaZulu-Natal is the heartland of the country's dairy industry.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
Dakota Media, the creative and production studio co-founded in 2020 by North Dakota-born actor Josh Duhamel, is registered in Venice, Calif.—but pitches itself as an expert in the heartland.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
The community is otherwise mostly present across their coastal heartland in Latakia and Tartus provinces.
From Barron's • Dec. 28, 2025
The war between Kaan and Mutal lasted more than a century and consumed much of the Maya heartland.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
