adjective
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owning land
landed gentry
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consisting of or including land
a landed estate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of landed
before 1000; late Middle English ( see land, -ed 3); replacing Old English gelandod (rare), past participle of *landian to endow with land ( -ed 2 )
Explanation
If someone is landed, it means they own property or acreage, and they probably inherited it. In 17th and 18th century England, owners of country estates were known as the landed gentry. This adjective almost always comes before "gentry" or "aristocracy," referring to an entire category of wealthy people. It's a bit old-fashioned, but you can still call use it for upper-class land owners. Your cousin, lucky enough to have the family estate handed down to him, is a member of the landed gentry. Landed can also describe the land itself, when someone inherits it: "The landed property was about fifty acres."
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.
Fatima Bio landed in London on Christmas Eve at Gatwick Airport wearing a T-shirt, she says, shocked by the cold, but relieved to have the opportunity of a new life.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump's special envoy to Greenland landed in Nuuk on Sunday for a visit of several days to the autonomous Danish territory, local media reported.
From Barron's • May 17, 2026
The promotion landed at a time when customers are feeling particularly pinched by inflation and high gas prices, Konecny said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
He landed a job at Microsoft and moved to the Seattle area in 2018.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
I heard their conversation through the duct in my room, when I accidentally-on-purpose fell into my closet and my ear landed on it.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
