noun
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the act of sighting or nearing land, esp from the sea
-
the land sighted or neared
Etymology
Origin of landfall
Explanation
Landfall is the first glimpse of land when you're on a boat. It can also mean the moment your boat touches the shore, like when your kayak makes landfall on a remote island. If you're traveling at sea, arriving at your destination is landfall. A child paddling a rowboat across a pond makes landfall when she reaches the far shore, and the captain of an ocean liner makes landfall at each remote stop on the route. A sailor might call out, "Landfall!" at the first sight of land on the horizon. The word landfall uses the sense of fall that means "happen."
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.
Weather agencies in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan forecast that the eye of the storm is expected to pass without making landfall in Taiwan.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
At the time, one possibility was that Simon could turn northward, enter the Gulf of California, and eventually make landfall.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Hurricane Simon, currently spinning along Mexico’s west coast, is expected to make landfall there this week, and forecasters say there’s roughly a 90% chance of another cyclone formation in the next seven days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Fla., Friday night, bringing heavy rains, damaging winds and the possibility of life-threatening flooding to the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Two weeks after landfall, Magellan held the country’s first Mass on the island of Limasawa, located in the Visayan Islands.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
