landing

American  

[lan-ding] / ˈlæn dɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that lands.

   The pilot brought his plane in for a landing.

2. a place where persons or goods are landed, as from a ship.

   The boat moored at the landing.

3. Architecture.

   1. a platform between flights of stairs.

   2. the floor at the head or foot of a flight of stairs.

4. Shipbuilding.

   1. the overlap of two plates or planks, as in a clinker-built shell.

   2. the distance between the center of a rivet hole and the edge of the plate or shape into which it is cut.

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landing British  

/ ˈlændɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the act of coming to land, esp after a flight or sea voyage

   2. ( as modifier )

      landing place

2. a place of disembarkation

3. the floor area at the top of a flight of stairs or between two flights of stairs

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Usage

What does landing mean? Landing is the act of returning to the ground after having been in flight or up in the air. It can also be used to refer to the act of returning to the land after having been in water.Landing also commonly refers to an instance of doing this. This especially involves aircraft, as in That was a rough landing. But it can also be applied to a person, as in She’ll have to stick the landing if she wants a perfect score. Landing can also mean a place where ships can dock.It can also refer to the floor at the top of a flight of stairs or the platform between two flights of stairs. The landing often has a bigger surface area than the steps and is usually positioned between flights when they change directions.The word landing comes is also the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb land, as in We will be landing shortly.Example: I’m much more nervous during the landing than at takeoff.

Other Word Forms

• postlanding adjective

Etymology

Origin of landing

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; land, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

That device was most famous for landing its few, brave buyers the moniker “glassholes.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

I was filled with the same hope I had as a pre-teen watching Apollo 11 blast off for the historic moon landing.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

The crew will not be landing on the Moon on this current mission, and will instead use it to prepare for a potential lunar landing by 2028.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

What’s more, higher-for-longer energy prices could rekindle worries about a hard landing for the economy, he said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

To Penelope he added, “I found your friend Faucet, too, while I was searching the woods. He’s bruised from a rough landing but in good working order otherwise.”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• dock