overland

¹ American  

[oh-ver-land, -luhnd] / ˈoʊ vərˌlænd, -lənd /

adverb

1. by land; on terrain.

   to travel overland rather than by sea.

2. over or across the land.

   a road that winds overland.

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adjective

1. proceeding, performed, or carried on overland.

   the overland route to the West.

Overland ² American  

[oh-ver-luhnd] / ˈoʊ vər lənd /

noun

1. a city in E Missouri, near St. Louis.

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overland British  

/ ˈəʊvəˌlænd /

adjective

1. over or across land

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verb

1. history to drive (cattle or sheep) overland

Other Word Forms

• overlander noun

Etymology

Origin of overland

First recorded in 1325–75, overland is from the Middle English word overlond. See over-, land

Example Sentences

An 80-mile overland route on to Dubai would be for him to arrange.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Others have made it out by traveling overland to neighboring Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Fort Bliss is a military post focused on training and White Sands Missile Range is the country's largest overland testing range for missiles, rockets and advanced weapons.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

More recent departees often take clandestine overland routes into Colombia or Brazil or risked the dangerous journey across the Darien Gap into Central America on their way north.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026

All of those areas could have been reached overland from a western beachhead.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond