inland

American  

[in-luhnd, in-land, -luhnd] / ˈɪn lənd, ˈɪnˌlænd, -lənd /

adjective

1. pertaining to or situated in the interior part of a country or region.

   inland cities.

2. British. domestic or internal.

   inland revenue.

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adverb

1. in or toward the interior of a country.

noun

1. the interior part of a country.

inland British  

adjective

1. of, concerning, or located in the interior of a country or region away from a sea or border

2. operating within a country or region; domestic; not foreign

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noun

1. the interior of a country or region

adverb

1. towards or into the interior of a country or region

Other Word Forms

• inlander
  noun

Etymology

Origin of inland

before 950; Middle English, Old English; see in- ¹, land

Explanation

Inland means far away from the ocean, or in the very middle of a country. If you were born and grew up in Kansas, you're familiar with inland living. The opposite of inland is coastal. When you travel to the rocky coast of Maine or the soft sandy beaches of Florida, you're far from being inland — you return to your inland home town when you fly back to Gary, Indiana. Inland comes from the Old English inn lond, "land around the mansion of an estate," and it began to mean "land far from the coast" in the 16th century.

Example Sentences

Nasa's satellite-based wildfire monitoring platform shows the fire has moved north-east over the weekend and now appears to be spreading inland.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

While coastal states like Florida have tended to face the worst of price hikes, inland areas have also seen costs rise in recent years following hail storms, wind damage and other disasters.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

But he thrived in China’s era of economic opening, leaving home in the inland province of Sichuan for factory work on the coast.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

Major population centers include cities such as Escondido, Vista and San Marcos in San Diego County, while the district also extends into inland to Temecula, Hemet and Palm Springs in Riverside County.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

In the Marine-HJ, the boys learned to navigate waterways during sailing and rowing excursions on inland lakes and large rivers.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti