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

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Etymology

Origin of inland

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

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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

See Examples For:

inland

By turning the nation’s focus inland and westward, he writes, “the Purchase transformed the United States from a coastal confederation into a continental power of immense potential.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

On top of that, Navatek was planning to pitch a new research proposal, at $10 million, to study the transport of supplies inland from ships using autonomous vehicles.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

Wyoming's Sundance Formation, which preserves evidence of an ancient inland sea that once stretched across much of the western United States, has yielded millions of these fossils.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

In some areas, the only sane maneuver is what’s called “managed retreat,” meaning relocation of structures farther inland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Then the road took a slight turn inland at the point where private homes and private property began and the state beach ended.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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