landslide
Americannoun
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landslides
plural
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the downward falling or sliding of a mass of soil, detritus, or rock on or from a steep slope.
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the mass itself.
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an election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes.
the 1936 landslide for Roosevelt.
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any overwhelming victory.
She won the contest by a landslide.
verb (used without object)
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to come down in or as in a landslide.
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to win an election by an overwhelming majority.
noun
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Also called: landslip.
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the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff
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the material dislodged in this way
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an overwhelming electoral victory
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( as modifier )
a landslide win
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The rapid downward sliding of a mass of earth and rock. Landslides usually move over a confined area. Many kinds of events can trigger a landslide, such as the oversteepening of slopes by erosion associated with rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves; heavy snowmelt which saturates soil and rock; or earthquakes that lead to the failure of weak slopes.
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The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of landslide
Explanation
When dirt and rock from a mountainside are sliding down, call it a landslide. Another kind of landslide takes place when one candidate soundly defeats another in an election. With either type of landslide, it's probably safest to stay out of the way! The political meaning of landslide is commonly used, but it's not the word's original definition. A geographical landslide occurs when a huge amount of earth slides down a slope or mountain, usually displacing rocks and vegetation and often houses and buildings as well. Landslides are caused by erosion, heavy rain, and earthquakes, among other events, and they're disruptive enough to give rise to the figurative meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing landslide
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High 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.
See Examples For:
Within hours of the flooding, Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, in turn blocking a river and sending water gushing downstream.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Mike Searle, a professor of earth sciences at Oxford University, said that this whole process - from landslide to flood - could have taken hours or even days.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Wednesday’s landslide was so powerful that it triggered a 5.2 magnitude seismic event, according to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
China also reported a landslide, saying a border hub between Tibet and Nepal had been hit by a surge of debris.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
If I don’t get elected eighth-grade president next year in a landslide, it’ll be a crime against student government.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Nearly 3,000 people were still missing Saturday and 633 confirmed dead after flash floods and landslides hit the Nepal-Tibet border.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The steep slopes and lush valleys below the Himalayan mountain range — home to many of the world’s highest peaks and remaining glaciers — are especially vulnerable to flooding and landslides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Massive landslides and flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border have caused widespread damage and left hundreds dead or missing.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Monsoon rains from June to September regularly trigger deadly floods and landslides across South Asia.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
And, like Brugman bringing in the ruby laser ranger and Voight adding his knowledge of landslides, the CVO is constantly updating their tools and developing new ones.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
“Even a moderate earthquake could cause a local-source tsunami from submarine landsliding in Monterey Bay,” public documents say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2025
“The weaker alluvial sediments can amplify shaking, and mountains are vulnerable to landsliding, including along the roads that lead to mountain villages.”
From National Geographic ● Sep. 11, 2023
"When the glaciers melted the sediment was no longer supported by the ice margins, so in places it can be susceptible to landsliding."
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2020
Says Norge President Judson S. Sayre: "The way orders are landsliding, we could be sold out for the year by October 15."
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
