mainland
[meyn-land, -luh nd]
- the principal land of a country, region, etc., as distinguished from adjacent islands or a peninsula: the mainland of Greece.
- (in Hawaii) the 48 contiguous states of the U.S.
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Origin of mainland
Mainland
[meyn-land, -luh nd]
- the largest of the Shetland Islands. About 200 sq. mi. (520 sq. km).
- Pomona(def 3).
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mainland
Contemporary Examples
In 1957, the islands came under repeated shelling by Mainland--or as it was then called, “Red”-- China.
The two islands are now tourist sites for visitors from Taiwan and mainland China.
Palombo, who was on the mainland at the time, told him to move on.
Even now, the protest sites see a good number of Mainland Chinese tourists who stop by to read the posters and banners.
Shoppers from Mainland China arrived in droves, and gained front row seats to civil disobedience in action.
Historical Examples
There be seven of them in all, lying off the town of Hampton on the mainland, about a league.
The Works of Whittier, Volume V (of VII)John Greenleaf Whittier
When I reached the mainland again I had sworn that I had been floating.
American NotesRudyard Kipling
They had proved that lower California was not an island but a part of the mainland.
Introductory American HistoryHenry Eldridge Bourne
On Friday, June 12, 1494, he discovered the mainland of America.
These were on the mainland and did not have to be reached by boat or by swimming.
The Story of Don QuixoteArvid Paulson, Clayton Edwards, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
mainland
- the main part of a land mass as opposed to an island or peninsula
- the mainland 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
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Mainland
- 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)
- the Mainland NZ a South Islanders' name for South Island
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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 mainland
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper