landlocked
Americanadjective
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shut in completely, or almost completely, by land.
a landlocked bay.
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having no direct access to the sea.
a landlocked country.
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living in waters shut off from the sea, as some fish.
adjective
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(of a country) completely surrounded by land
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(esp of lakes) completely or almost completely surrounded by land
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(esp of certain salmon) living in fresh water that is permanently isolated from the sea
Etymology
Origin of landlocked
Explanation
Something that's landlocked is completely surrounded by land, rather than by bodies of water. Oklahoma City is landlocked, but San Francisco isn't. There are many landlocked cities in the world, and if you live in one of them but miss the time you once spent on an island in Maine, you may feel landlocked yourself. There are only 42 truly landlocked countries in the world, whose borders don't touch open ocean. Historically, most of these landlocked countries have struggled economically, since access to ocean shipping makes it easier to export goods.
Vocabulary lists containing landlocked
Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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Political Geography - Middle School
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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.
How we understand that convergence of interests, in a remote and landlocked Eastern European country that most Americans couldn’t find on the map with multiple guesses, is quite another matter.
From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026
Amazon said the additional investment in Spain would help bolster its data-center infrastructure in Aragon—a landlocked region in the northeast of the country—that underpins part of AWS’s AI and cloud capabilities in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026
One of the points of tension is the call from landlocked Ethiopia for access to the sea, which Abiy has described as an existential matter.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2026
Niger and landlocked Mali, ruled by juntas, are allies along with military-ruled Burkina Faso, and all three are grappling with intensified jihadist attacks.
From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026
“I am afraid we are rather landlocked at Ashton Place.”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
