landfall

American  

[land-fawl] / ˈlændˌfɔl /

noun

1. an approach to or sighting of land.

   The ship will make its landfall at noon tomorrow.

2. the land sighted or reached.

3. a landslide.

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landfall British  

/ ˈlændˌfɔːl /

noun

1. the act of sighting or nearing land, esp from the sea

2. the land sighted or neared

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Etymology

Origin of landfall

First recorded in 1620–30; land + fall

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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

See Examples For:

landfall

Production continued to be affected by offshore shut-ins due to Hurricane Isaias, which made landfall Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

There has only been one hurricane - Isaias - which made landfall in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 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

Tropical Storm Rachel is expected to make landfall either in northern Baja California or San Diego County as early as Saturday night, bringing with it a slew of potential hazards, including damaging coastal flooding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Shackleton feared that some of the men would die if they didn’t make landfall soon.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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