the principal land of a country, region, etc., as distinguished from adjacent islands or a peninsula.
the mainland of Greece.
any part of or all of the continental United States or conterminous United States, especially from the perspective of someone in a geographically detached U.S. state or territory, such as Hawaii or Guam.
I’m not sure where on the mainland Jasmine went to college, but it may have been Milwaukee.
an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Shetland Islands. Chief town: Lerwick. Pop: 17 550 (2001). Area: about 583 sq km (225 sq miles)
Also called: Pomona. an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Orkney Islands. Chief town: Kirkwall. Pop: 15 315 (2001). Area: 492 sq km (190 sq miles)
a South Islanders' name for South Island
the main part of a land mass as opposed to an island or peninsula
a particular landmass as viewed from a nearby island with which it has close links, such as Great Britain as viewed from Northern Ireland or continental Australia as viewed from Tasmania
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; see origin at main 1, land
A mainland is the land covering a continent, as opposed to islands off its coast. When you take the ferry back after visiting Block Island, you can say you're "returning to the mainland." The rocky coast of the mainland might make for a difficult landing in your rowboat — or you might enter a race that requires you to swim from the mainland to a tiny island and back. You could also refer to "mainland United States" to distinguish it from the island state of Hawaii, and its residents might even call you a mainlander when you vacation there.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The former Portuguese colony is governed by Beijing as a special region of China, but it has its own import rules and resembles an overseas market for mainland producers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Perched at the southern tip of mainland western Europe, it is just nine miles from Morocco, at a point where the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea meet.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
The wolves were also smaller than typical wolves living on the mainland.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
The Catalan conquistador led the first mainland expedition of Europeans up and down what’s now California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
It was the mainland school supervisor who had graded the exams who took time to write me a note of congratulations.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
The firm estimates that if Futu exits all existing Mainland clients, its revenue would drop 20% and earnings would drop 30% in 2026.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
“Everybody is concerned that China’s strong demands are going to end up hurting Taiwan,” said Liang Wen-chieh, deputy head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
"Beijing's intention, in short, is to internalise the cross-strait issue, treating it as a domestic matter for China, with foreign intervention prohibited," Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said Thursday.
From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026
Mainland Scotland also showed elevated risk, particularly in Glasgow and southwest Scotland.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2026
Mainland Australia’s 300,000 hunter-gatherers were more numerous and less isolated than the Tasmanians but still constituted the smallest and most isolated human population of any of the continents.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The marsupials of Australia, the finches on the Galápagos, and many species on the Hawaiian Islands are all unique to their one point of origin, yet they display distant relationships to ancestral species on mainlands.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The Berlin-based ethnographer Alexa Clay, who studied change agents in her book, “The Misfit Economy,” talks about mainlands, islands and peninsulas.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2016
The marsupials of Australia, the finches on the Galápagos, and many species on the Hawaiian Islands are all found nowhere else but on their island, yet display distant relationships to ancestral species on mainlands.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
To reach that stage, there must be mutual confidence, on the island and the mainlands.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the usual experience of archaeologists, inventions are supposed to flow from mainlands to islands, and small peripheral societies aren’t supposed to contribute revolutionary advances to the rest of the world.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
