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.
Other big defense contractors in the area also soon landed contracts to produce ammunition and expand their rocket facilities in Camden.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026
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
Two years later he landed his first big stage role in the Broadway musical "Grease".
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
For Theo Von’s first-ever live taping of his hit podcast “This Past Weekend,” he landed the ultimate guest: Iron Mike Tyson.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
The jaculus landed on his hand and dipped its tiny head to his skin in a bow.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
