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Synonyms

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.

See Examples For:

You can settle in, say, Culver City, which is several miles inland, and wait for rising tides to arrive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Eumetsat handles routine satellite operations and supplies marine and atmospheric observations, while ESA provides data covering land, the cryosphere, inland waters, and atmospheric products processed after acquisition.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

But taken together, government pledges would cover only 27 percent of land and inland waters by the end of this decade if enacted in full.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

They moved to different parts of the island, swapping the beaches in the south to climb the volcanic Mount Batur in the north, and spending time in the cultural village of Ubud inland.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Instead, they snaked along the canals that led deeper inland, toward the metals district.

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

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