land

1 of 2

noun

ˈland 

often attributive

1

a

: the solid part of the surface of the earth

also : a corresponding part of a celestial body (such as the moon)

b

: ground or soil of a specified situation, nature, or quality

dry land

c

: the surface of the earth and all its natural resources

2

: a portion of the earth's solid surface distinguishable by boundaries or ownership

bought land in the country

: such as

a

: country

the finest cheese in all the land

b

: a rural area characterized by farming or ranching

also : farming or ranching as a way of life

wanted to move back to the land

3

: realm, domain

in the land of dreams

—sometimes used in combination

TV-land

4

: the people of a country

the land rose in rebellion

5

: an area of a partly machined surface (such as the inside of a gun barrel) that is left without machining

landless

ˈland-ləs 

adjective

landlessness

ˈland-ləs-nəs 

noun

land

2 of 2

verb

landed; landing; lands

transitive verb

1

: to set or put on shore from a ship : disembark

2

a

: to set down after conveying

b

: to cause to reach or come to rest in a particular place

never landed a punch

c

: to bring to a specified condition

his wit landed him in trouble

d

: to bring to a landing

land an airplane

e

: to complete successfully by landing

the skater landed all her jumps

3

a

: to catch and bring in

land a fish

b

: gain, secure

land a job

landed the leading role

intransitive verb

1

a

: to go ashore from a ship : disembark

b

of a ship or boat : to touch at a place on shore

2

a

: to come to the end of a course or to a stage in a journey : arrive

took a wrong turn and landed on a dead-end street

b

: to come to be in a condition or situation

landed in jail

c

: to strike or meet a surface (as after a fall)

landed on my head

d

: to alight on a surface

Synonyms

Noun

• commonwealth
• country
• nation
• sovereignty
• sovranty
• state

Verb

• anchor
• dock

Examples of land in a Sentence

Noun

the land along the highway

The land stretched as far as you could see.

They cleared some land to grow crops.

After two days of sailing, we were miles from land.

They invaded the country by land and by sea.

They own land in Alaska.

They bought some land and built a house.

His lands extend as far as the eye can see.

He was the most powerful politician in the land.

the lands of the Far East

Verb

The plane landed on the runway.

We watched the seaplanes landing on the water.

The bird landed in a tree.

A butterfly landed on the flower.

Our flight was scheduled to land in Pittsburgh at 4:00.

It was raining heavily at the airport when we landed.

The pilot was able to land the plane on the runway.

The golf ball landed in the trees.

I could not see where the ball landed.

The cat fell from the tree but landed on its feet.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

During the summer and early fall, when the Hudson Bay ice melts, polar bears often remain on land, fasting and conserving energy until the sea ice refreezes in winter. —Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024

Within minutes of take-off, the pilot described the sights below, which at first included the city but soon became a vast, vacant, black land. —Jaclyn Greenberg, WIRED, 5 Dec. 2024

Verb

Holmes is projected to land a four-year, $54 million deal this winter, per Spotrac. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024

Russian Telegram channels are circulating a Ukrainian document on counter-drone warfare highlighting a new threat : pop-up ambushes by FPV drones which land on the ground and lie in wait until a target approaches. —David Hambling, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English lond, land, going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *landa- (strong neuter noun), perhaps originally "untilled land" (whence also Old Frisian land, lond "land, earth, country, landed property," Old Saxon land, Old High German lant, Old Norse land, Gothic land "field, country"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *lond^h-o-, o-grade form of a noun with apparent zero-grade *ln̥d^h-eh₂- in Celtic *land-ā-, whence Old Irish land, lann "land, plot, church building," Welsh llan "church and its adjoining property, enclosure," also Old Irish ithlann "threshing floor" (with ith "grain"), Old Welsh itlann, glossing Latin ārea "threshing floor," Welsh ydlan "barnyard" (with ŷd "grain"); and probably in Elfdalian (dialect of north central Sweden) linda "overgrown field," Old Prussian lindan (accusative singular) "valley"; zero-grade *ln̥d^h- or full grade *lend^h- in Slavic *lęd-, whence Russian ljadá "uncultivated field with first-growth forest," Old Russian ljadina "wasteland, weeds, thick brush," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian lèdina, ledìna "wasteland, virgin soil," Polish ląnd "dry land, mainland"

Note: The etymon is limited to northern European Indo-European: Celtic, Germanic, Slavic and (marginally) Baltic. E. Seebold (in F. Kluge, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 22. Auflage, 1989) proposes a derivative *lem-d^h- from a verbal base *lem- "break (ground)," whence Old Church Slavic lemešĭ "plow," Lithuanian lẽmežis "wooden part of the plough" (compare Old Church Slavic lomiti "to break"). The suggestion has also been made that the etymon was borrowed from a non-Indo-European language.

Verb

Middle English londen, landen, derivative of lond, land land entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing land

• belly-land
• cloud-cuckoo-land
• crash-land
• crown land
• how the land lies
• in the land of the living
• la-la land
• land acknowledgement
• land acknowledgment
• land bank
• land grab
• land grant
• land in someone's lap
• land line
• land mine
• land office
• land-office business
• land of milk and honey
• land of opportunity
• land on one's feet
• land-poor
• land reform
• land with
• land yacht
• lie of the land
• live off/on the fat of the land
• live off the land
• native land
• never-never land
• no-man's-land
• promised land
• public land
• soft-land
• spy out the land
• the land
• the law of the land
• the lay of the land
• the promised land
• work the land

Kids Definition

land

1 of 2 noun

ˈland 

1

: the solid part of the surface of the earth

2

: a portion of the earth's surface

fenced land

marshy land

3

: country entry 1 sense 2b, nation

4

: real estate

owns land in Alaska

landless

ˈlan-dləs 

adjective

land

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: to set or go ashore from a ship : disembark

b

: to stop at or near a place on shore

2

: to come down or bring down and settle on a surface

land a plane

3

: to bring to or arrive at a destination or a position or condition

4

a

: to catch and bring in

land a fish

b

: secure entry 2 sense 3, gain

land a job

lander noun

Legal Definition

land

noun

1

: an area of the earth usually inclusive of improvements, bodies of water, and natural or man-made objects and extending indefinitely upward and downward compare air right

2

: an estate, interest, or right in land

land means both surface and mineral rights

—California Public Resources Code

Biographical Definition

Land

biographical name

ˈland 

Edwin Herbert 1909–1991 American inventor and industrialist