no man's land
Americannoun
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an area between opposing armies, over which no control has been established.
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an unowned or unclaimed tract of usually barren land.
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an indefinite or ambiguous area where guidelines and authority are not clear.
a no man's land between acceptance and rejection.
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(in tennis, handball, etc.) the area of a court in which a player is at a tactical disadvantage, as the area of a tennis court about midway between the net and the base line.
noun
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land between boundaries, esp an unoccupied zone between opposing forces
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an unowned or unclaimed piece of land
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an ambiguous area of activity or thought
Etymology
Origin of no man's land
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50
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.
From a technical perspective, Meta is stuck in no man’s land.
From Barron's
But keeper Nick Pope rushed off his line in an attempt to get there ahead of Aubameyang, only to be caught in no man's land as the forward nipped in and finished superbly from a tight angle out on the right wing.
From BBC
Vlasic then drove the knife in deeper still 20 minutes from time with a cushioned volley to beat goalkeeper Mathias Lamhauge, who had strayed into no man's land.
From Barron's
The year was 1915 and Laidlaw's frontline unit was trapped in No Man's Land.
From BBC
On crude, “we are also still in no man’s land regarding the glut,” Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities says in a note.
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.
