land bridge

American  

Also landbridge

noun

1. Geology. an actual or hypothetical strip of land, subject to submergence, that connects adjacent continental landmasses and serves as a route of dispersal for plants and animals.

   a prehistoric land bridge between Asia and North America.

2. a transcontinental rail route between countries, as those in Europe and East Asia, considered faster and less costly than all-sea routes.

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land bridge British  

noun

1. (in zoogeography) a connecting tract of land between two continents, enabling animals to pass from one continent to the other

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Etymology

Origin of land bridge

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

This land bridge between east and west, he said, would be the “key to the universe” for how it could control global trade flows.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

Both envisioned a land bridge burying La Cienega for nearly the length of the park.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025

The country was once connected to Australia by a land bridge, and shares many of the same snake species, so the Australian government gives the antivenom for free – snake diplomacy, if you like.

From BBC • May 16, 2025

However, once North America rejoined South America, other animals such as saber-toothed cats crossed the land bridge, which may have brought about the demise of giant rodents.

From Salon • Sep. 7, 2024

The combination of land bridge and ice-free corridor occurred only once in the last twenty thousand years, and lasted for just a few hundred years.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann