land
any part of the earth's surface not covered by a body of water; the part of the earth's surface occupied by continents and islands: Land was sighted from the crow's nest.
an area of ground with reference to its nature or composition: arable land.
an area of ground with specific boundaries: to buy land on which to build a house.
rural or farming areas, as contrasted with urban areas: They left the land for the city.
Law.
any part of the earth's surface that can be owned as property, and everything annexed to it, whether by nature or by the human hand.
any legal interest held in land.
Economics. natural resources as a factor of production.
a part of the surface of the earth marked off by natural or political boundaries or the like; a region or country: They came from many lands.
the people of a region or country
Audio. the flat surface between the grooves of a phonograph record.
a realm or domain: the land of the living.
a surface between furrows, as on a millstone or on the interior of a rifle barrel.
Scot. a tenement house.
to bring to or set on land: to land passengers or goods from a ship; to land an airplane.
to bring into or cause to arrive in a particular place, position, or condition: His behavior will land him in jail.
Informal. to catch or capture; gain; win: to land a job.
Angling. to bring (a fish) to land, or into a boat, etc., as with a hook or a net.
to come to land or shore: The boat lands at Cherbourg.
to go or come ashore from a ship or boat.
to alight upon a surface, as the ground, a body of water, or the like: to land on both feet.
to hit or strike the ground, as from a height: The ball landed at the far side of the court.
to strike and come to rest on a surface or in something: The golf ball landed in the lake.
to come to rest or arrive in a particular place, position, or condition (sometimes followed by up): to land in trouble; to land up 40 miles from home.
land on, Informal. to reprimand; criticize: His mother landed on him for coming home so late.
Idioms about land
land / fall on one's feet, feet (def. 3).
see how the land lies, to investigate in advance; inform oneself of the facts of a situation before acting: You should see how the land lies before making a formal proposal.: Compare lay of the land.
Origin of land
1Other words from land
- landlike, adjective
- re·land, verb
- un·der·land, noun
Words Nearby land
Other definitions for Land (2 of 3)
Edwin Herbert, 1909–91, U.S. inventor and businessman: created the Polaroid camera.
Other definitions for -land (3 of 3)
a combining form of land: hinterland; lowland.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use land in a sentence
This is largely due to land use changes, namely the conversion of more fire-prone savannah in Central Africa to agricultural land, Swansea University wildfire researcher Cristina Santin Nuno told Carbon Brief.
What wildfires in Brazil, Siberia, and the US West have in common | Lili Pike | September 17, 2020 | VoxAnother option is to head over to HipCamp, an online directory of private land that’s open to camping, where you’ll find everything from yurts and cabins to treehouses and simple campsites on which to pitch your tent.
Three Family-Friendly Adventures to Try This Fall | Outside Editors | September 17, 2020 | Outside OnlineIn the case of more recent boundaries, such as the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, it is not as easy to find an outcrop on land that documents the transition, so plumbing of paleoclimate archives is required.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green | Summer Praetorius | September 16, 2020 | NautilusWhat’s most needed is way to reboot our relationship with the oil palm—to find a way to produce more oil on less land.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green | Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay | September 16, 2020 | NautilusThe land belonged to his in-laws, and they didn’t want anyone else on the property.
How to hunt for star-nosed moles (and their holes) | Kenneth Catania | September 15, 2020 | Popular-Science
For every nanosecond that I miraculously lift off the ground, I land with an inordinately loud thud.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze | Lizzie Crocker | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was supposed to land in Singapore at 8:57 a.m. local time.
The Presumed Crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Is Nothing Like MH370 | Lennox Samuels | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Federal Duck Stamp Act raised the fee on stamps needed to hunt waterfowl on federal land from $15 to $25.
Nazis, Sunscreen, and Sea Gull Eggs: Congress in 2014 Was Hella Productive | Ben Jacobs | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn this American dream, we are emotionally tied to the people and land of our communities.
Chickens require significantly less land, water, and energy than all other meat options except farmed salmon.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity | William O’Connor | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThen with your victorious legions you can march south and help drive the Yankee invaders from the land.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnIt is a lofty and richly-decorated pile of the fourteenth century; and tells of the labours and the wealth of a foreign land.
Worst danger zone, the open sea, now traversed, but on land not yet out of the wood.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonIt was more like the boarding of a ship than any land fight I had ever seen or imagined.
We see the whole land, even if but at a distance, instead of being limited merely to the spot where our foot treads.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy Fay
British Dictionary definitions for land (1 of 3)
/ (lænd) /
the solid part of the surface of the earth as distinct from seas, lakes, etc: Related adjective: terrestrial
ground, esp with reference to its use, quality, etc
(in combination): land-grabber
rural or agricultural areas as contrasted with urban ones
farming as an occupation or way of life
law
any tract of ground capable of being owned as property, together with any buildings on it, extending above and below the surface
any hereditament, tenement, or other interest; realty
a country, region, or area
the people of a country, etc
a realm, sphere, or domain
economics the factor of production consisting of all natural resources
the unindented part of a grooved surface, esp one of the ridges inside a rifle bore
how the land lies the prevailing conditions or state of affairs
to transfer (something) or go from a ship or boat to the shore: land the cargo
(intr) to come to or touch shore
to come down or bring (something) down to earth after a flight or jump
to come or bring to some point, condition, or state
(tr) angling to retrieve (a hooked fish) from the water
(tr) informal to win or obtain: to land a job
(tr) informal to deliver (a blow)
Origin of land
1Derived forms of land
- landless, adjective
- landlessness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for Land (2 of 3)
/ (lænd) /
Edwin Herbert. 1909–91, US inventor of the Polaroid Land camera
British Dictionary definitions for Land (3 of 3)
/ German (lant) /
any of the federal states of Germany
any of the provinces of Austria
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 Idioms and Phrases with land
In addition to the idioms beginning with land
- land in
- land on
- land up
also see:
- cloud-cuckoo land
- fall (land) on one's feet
- fat of the land
- la-la land
- lay of the land
- never-never land
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse