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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.


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

"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

noun

  1. the interior of a country or region

"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

adverb

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

"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

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing inland

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 are also a number of cities, especially in the Inland Empire, with older brick construction that can collapse in an earthquake, yet aren’t required to be strengthened or demolished.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026

Cordner and his friend Ken Crawford grew up in Riverside in the ’80s and ’90s, photographing the initial wave of hardcore punk taking shape in the Inland Empire.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

The show at St. John’s is just the tip of the Inland Empire’s DIY venue iceberg.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

“Latinos in the Inland Empire have always been hardcore,” Abarca said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

They call this part of California the Inland Empire, and it’s always smoggy, because whatever nastiness is in the air gets blown here and caught against the mountains.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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