land

[ land ]

/ lænd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR land ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any part of the earth's surface not covered by a body of water; the part of the earth's surface occupied by continents and islands: Land was sighted from the crow's nest.

an area of ground with reference to its nature or composition: arable land.

an area of ground with specific boundaries: to buy land on which to build a house.

rural or farming areas, as contrasted with urban areas: They left the land for the city.

Law.

any part of the earth's surface that can be owned as property, and everything annexed to it, whether by nature or by the human hand.
any legal interest held in land.

Economics. natural resources as a factor of production.

a part of the surface of the earth marked off by natural or political boundaries or the like; a region or country: They came from many lands.

the people of a region or country

Audio. the flat surface between the grooves of a phonograph record.

a realm or domain: the land of the living.

a surface between furrows, as on a millstone or on the interior of a rifle barrel.

Scot. a tenement house.

verb (used with object)

to bring to or set on land: to land passengers or goods from a ship; to land an airplane.

to bring into or cause to arrive in a particular place, position, or condition: His behavior will land him in jail.

Informal. to catch or capture; gain; win: to land a job.

Angling. to bring (a fish) to land, or into a boat, etc., as with a hook or a net.

verb (used without object)

to come to land or shore: The boat lands at Cherbourg.

to go or come ashore from a ship or boat.

to alight upon a surface, as the ground, a body of water, or the like: to land on both feet.

to hit or strike the ground, as from a height: The ball landed at the far side of the court.

to strike and come to rest on a surface or in something: The golf ball landed in the lake.

to come to rest or arrive in a particular place, position, or condition (sometimes followed by up): to land in trouble; to land up 40 miles from home.

Verb Phrases

land on, Informal. to reprimand; criticize: His mother landed on him for coming home so late.

Nearby words

Idioms

land/fall on one's feet, feet(def 3).

see how the land lies, to investigate in advance; inform oneself of the facts of a situation before acting: You should see how the land lies before making a formal proposal.Compare lay of the land.

Origin of land

before 900; Middle English (noun and v.), Old English (noun); cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse, Gothic land; akin to Irish lann, Welsh llan church (orig. enclosure), Breton lann heath. See lawn¹

Related formsland·like, adjectivere·land, verbun·der·land, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lands

The king set about punishing Marshal, opposing his attempts to establish his family in their lands in Ireland and Wales.
England’s Greatest Knight Puts ‘Game of Thrones’ to Shame|William O’Connor|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After checking out a few more varieties, she lands on one that feels close enough to home.
Women Are Leading the Way for Legalized Weed|Abby Haglage|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Construction is due to begin before the end of December, which means that lands will be taken, villages relocated.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution|Nina Lakhani|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The stream of bubbly from the popped champagne bottle creates an angelic arc over her, and lands right in the glass.
Kim Kardashian Bares Her Shiny, Bounteous Butt, Breaks the Internet|Marlow Stern|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Washington now found himself unable to even see the lands he was banking on to leave a lasting fortune.
Washington’s Wheeler-Dealer Patriotism|William O’Connor|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fired with ambition by these successes, he pressed boldly onward to reduce the cities and lands of the east.
The History of Antiquity, Vol. I (of VI)|Max Duncker
But the Britain and Russia and France she fights are lands full of the spirit of undefined novelty.
What is Coming?|H. G. Wells
If the farmer were wise he would replant some of these lands with such trees as spruce, hickory, walnut, or maple.
Conservation Reader|Harold W. Fairbanks
By these two treaties all the lands east of Fort Snelling were opened to settlement and commercial exploitation.
Old Fort Snelling|Marcus L. Hansen
Our gardens were always the lands we had inherited or conquered, and we called ourselves by the names of the little Russians.
Mrs. Overtheway's Remembrances|Juliana Horatia Ewing

British Dictionary definitions for lands (1 of 4)

lands

/ (lændz) /

pl n

holdings in land

Southern African the part of a farm on which crops are grown

British Dictionary definitions for lands (2 of 4)

land

/ (lænd) /

noun

the solid part of the surface of the earth as distinct from seas, lakes, etcRelated adjective: terrestrial

ground, esp with reference to its use, quality, etc
(in combination)land-grabber

rural or agricultural areas as contrasted with urban ones

farming as an occupation or way of life

law

any tract of ground capable of being owned as property, together with any buildings on it, extending above and below the surface
any hereditament, tenement, or other interest; realty

a country, region, or area
the people of a country, etc

a realm, sphere, or domain

economics the factor of production consisting of all natural resources

the unindented part of a grooved surface, esp one of the ridges inside a rifle bore

how the land lies the prevailing conditions or state of affairs

verb

to transfer (something) or go from a ship or boat to the shoreland the cargo

(intr) to come to or touch shore

to come down or bring (something) down to earth after a flight or jump

to come or bring to some point, condition, or state

(tr) angling to retrieve (a hooked fish) from the water

(tr) informal to win or obtainto land a job

(tr) informal to deliver (a blow)

Word Origin for land

Old English; compare Old Norse, Gothic land, Old High German lant

British Dictionary definitions for lands (3 of 4)

Land

/ (lænd) /

noun

Edwin Herbert. 1909–91, US inventor of the Polaroid Land camera

British Dictionary definitions for lands (4 of 4)

Land

/ German (lant) /

noun plural Länder (ˈlɛndər)

any of the federal states of Germany
any of the provinces of Austria

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lands (1 of 3)

land

Old English land, lond, "ground, soil," also "definite portion of the earth's surface, home region of a person or a people, territory marked by political boundaries," from Proto-Germanic *landom (cf. Old Norse, Old Frisian Dutch, German, Gothic land), from PIE *lendh- "land, heath" (cf. Old Irish land, Middle Welsh llan "an open space," Welsh llan "enclosure, church," Breton lann "heath," source of French lande; Old Church Slavonic ledina "waste land, heath," Czech lada "fallow land").

Etymological evidence and Gothic use indicates the original sense was "a definite portion of the earth's surface owned by an individual or home of a nation." Meaning early extended to "solid surface of the earth," which had been the sense of the root of Modern English earth. Original sense of land in English is now mostly found under country. To take the lay of the land is a nautical expression. In the American English exclamation land's sakes (1846) land is a euphemism for Lord.

Word Origin and History for lands (1 of 3)

land

v.1

"to bring to land," early 13c., from land (n.). Originally of ships; of fish, in the angling sense, from 1610s; hence figurative sense of "to obtain" (a job, etc.), first recorded 1854. Of aircraft, attested from 1916. Related: Landed; landing.

Word Origin and History for lands (2 of 3)

land

v.2

"to make contact, to hit home" (of a blow, etc.), by 1881, perhaps altered from lend in a playful sense, or else an extension of land (v.1).

Idioms and Phrases with lands

land

In addition to the idioms beginning with land

land in
land on
land up

also see:

cloud-cuckoo land
fall (land) on one's feet
fat of the land
la-la land
lay of the land
never-never land

land

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of land

Examples from the Web for lands

British Dictionary definitions for lands (1 of 4)

lands

pl n

British Dictionary definitions for lands (2 of 4)

land

noun

verb

Word Origin for land

British Dictionary definitions for lands (3 of 4)

Land

noun

British Dictionary definitions for lands (4 of 4)

Land

noun plural Länder (ˈlɛndər)

Word Origin and History for lands (1 of 3)

land

Word Origin and History for lands (1 of 3)

land

Word Origin and History for lands (2 of 3)

land

Idioms and Phrases with lands

land