landslide
Americannoun
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landslides
plural
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the downward falling or sliding of a mass of soil, detritus, or rock on or from a steep slope.
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the mass itself.
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an election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes.
the 1936 landslide for Roosevelt.
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any overwhelming victory.
She won the contest by a landslide.
verb (used without object)
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to come down in or as in a landslide.
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to win an election by an overwhelming majority.
noun
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Also called: landslip.
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the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff
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the material dislodged in this way
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an overwhelming electoral victory
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( as modifier )
a landslide win
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The rapid downward sliding of a mass of earth and rock. Landslides usually move over a confined area. Many kinds of events can trigger a landslide, such as the oversteepening of slopes by erosion associated with rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves; heavy snowmelt which saturates soil and rock; or earthquakes that lead to the failure of weak slopes.
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The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of landslide
Explanation
When dirt and rock from a mountainside are sliding down, call it a landslide. Another kind of landslide takes place when one candidate soundly defeats another in an election. With either type of landslide, it's probably safest to stay out of the way! The political meaning of landslide is commonly used, but it's not the word's original definition. A geographical landslide occurs when a huge amount of earth slides down a slope or mountain, usually displacing rocks and vegetation and often houses and buildings as well. Landslides are caused by erosion, heavy rain, and earthquakes, among other events, and they're disruptive enough to give rise to the figurative meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing landslide
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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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:
The resulting landslide and tsunami caused eight deaths, according to a reconstruction published in Natural Hazards.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
A landslide struck a car park on Japan's Mount Fuji, with the final day of the volcano's summer climbing season on Thursday marred by downpours and dense mist.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
A tsunami begins when a large volume of water is suddenly displaced, often by an earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
The floods are the first major crisis Shah has confronted since being elected in a landslide on a wave of Gen Z discontent earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
But more than that, he also wrote about what the change from a landslide could do to fluid underneath the ground.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
After thousands of passes over the Moon, researchers have assembled maps precise enough to identify new craters, landslides, spacecraft landers, seismic faults, and possible signs of lava tubes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Local landslides are particularly challenging because their effects can develop quickly and may not be preceded by a felt earthquake.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Should there be heavy rainfall in the mountains, that poses a serious threat of flash floods, landslides and debris flow, according to Swain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
More than 2,400 people were still missing Friday missing and 584 were confirmed dead after flash floods and landslides hit the Nepal-Tibet border.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
There are remnants of landslides running down the inside of toilet bowls.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
“Even a moderate earthquake could cause a local-source tsunami from submarine landsliding in Monterey Bay,” public documents say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2025
“The weaker alluvial sediments can amplify shaking, and mountains are vulnerable to landsliding, including along the roads that lead to mountain villages.”
From National Geographic ● Sep. 11, 2023
"When the glaciers melted the sediment was no longer supported by the ice margins, so in places it can be susceptible to landsliding."
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2020
Says Norge President Judson S. Sayre: "The way orders are landsliding, we could be sold out for the year by October 15."
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
