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landslide

[land-slahyd]
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noun Also called, especially British, land·slip [land-slip] /ˈlændˌslɪp/ (for defs 1, 2).
  1. the downward falling or sliding of a mass of soil, detritus, or rock on or from a steep slope.
  2. the mass itself.
  3. an election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes: the 1936 landslide for Roosevelt.
  4. any overwhelming victory: She won the contest by a landslide.
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verb (used without object), land·slid, land·slid or land·slid·den, land·slid·ing.
  1. to come down in or as in a landslide.
  2. to win an election by an overwhelming majority.
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Origin of landslide

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; land + slide
Can be confusedavalanche landslide
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

floodbarragelandslidetorrentdelugeinundationlandslipsnowslide

Examples from the Web for landslip

Historical Examples

  • He was killed by a landslip in the pit, when he was barely forty years old.

    A Zola Dictionary

    J. G. Patterson

  • "Mrs. Henchman wanted us all to walk to the Landslip this afternoon," she said.

    The Girls of St. Olave's

    Mabel Mackintosh

  • We don't want to sit staring down the Landslip till they arrive.

    The Girls of St. Olave's

    Mabel Mackintosh

  • Audrey had to come back with her and I went on to the Landslip to find you.

    The Girls of St. Olave's

    Mabel Mackintosh

  • The first thing we did was to go back to our camp and see the effect of the landslip.

    Peter Trawl

    W. H. G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for landslip

landslide

noun
  1. Also called: landslip
    1. the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff
    2. the material dislodged in this way
    1. an overwhelming electoral victory
    2. (as modifier)a landslide win
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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 landslip

n.

1670s, from land (n.) + slip (n.).

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landslide

n.

1856, American English, from land (n.) + slide (n.). Earlier was landslip, still preferred in Britain. Old English used eorðgebyrst in this sense; literally "earth-burst." In the political sense, landslide "lopsided electoral victory" is attested from 1888.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
landslip in Science

landslide

[lănd′slīd′]
  1. 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.
  2. The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.