landmark

American  

[land-mahrk] / ˈlændˌmɑrk /

noun

• landmarks
  plural

1. a prominent or conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide, especially to ships at sea or to travelers on a road; a distinguishing landscape feature marking a site or location.

   The post office served as a landmark for locating the street to turn down.

2. something used to mark the boundary of land.

3. a building or other place that is of outstanding historical, aesthetic, or cultural importance, often declared as such and given a special status landmark designation, ordaining its preservation, by some authorizing organization.

4. a significant or historic event, juncture, achievement, etc..

   The court decision stands as a landmark in constitutional law.

   Synonyms:

   benchmark, watershed, milestone

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verb (used with object)

1. to declare (a building, site, etc.) a landmark.

   a movement to landmark New York's older theaters.

landmark British  

/ ˈlændˌmɑːk /

noun

1. a prominent or well-known object in or feature of a particular landscape

2. an important or unique decision, event, fact, discovery, etc

3. a boundary marker or signpost

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unlandmarked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• landmarks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of landmark

before 1000; Middle English; Old English landmearc. See land, mark ¹

Explanation

A landmark is anything that helps you know where you are — in space, in time, in history. If you’re sailing from Europe to New York, the Statue of Liberty will be the landmark that lets you know you’re in the right port. If you’re walking to your cousin’s house, the pizza shop on the corner is the landmark that lets you know you just have two blocks to go. Getting your driver’s license is a landmark event, as was the Revolutionary War — though which battle was harder is yours to determine.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

landmark landmarks

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills that will overhaul the landmark California Environmental Quality Act in an effort to streamline housing development in the state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

The potential loss of yet another national landmark got you down?

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

A push for landmark US cryptocurrency legislation collapsed on Tuesday after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to bridge months-old differences over ethics, banking and how the fast-growing industry should be regulated.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Pfizer’s claim dates back to 2021 when the European Union negotiated a landmark agreement to secure hundreds of millions of Covid-19 vaccines on behalf of its 27 member states.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Board of Education, the landmark 1954 decision that banned segregation in all public schools in the United States of America.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

But the German capital has long been defined by its contrasts: Historic landmarks and world-class museums stand alongside Brutalist architecture, independent fashion labels and one of Europe’s most influential contemporary art scenes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

The eastern city of Baalbek has one of Lebanon's best-known landmarks: a stunningly well-preserved Roman temple complex set against the mountainous border with Syria.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Record heatwaves have endangered tourists visiting US landmarks throughout the summer.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

These worrying landmarks reinforce a market perception that fixed-income investments are losing bets, a sentiment Hartnett summarizes as “Anything But Bonds.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Now she had her own landmarks and scenes to remember.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Related Words

• marker
• memorial
• milestone
• monument
• museum
• tree