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land mine
noun
: a mine usually placed just below the surface of the ground and designed to be exploded usually by the weight of vehicles or troops passing over it
—often used figuratively
Every aspect of this scheme is a potential land mine.—
Henry A. Kissinger
a political land mine
Synonyms
Examples of land mine in a Sentence
parents of teenagers never know when they might set off an emotional land mine
Recent Examples on the Web
On average, one person is killed or injured by land mines and other explosive ordnance every hour, according to UNICEF.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 8 Jan. 2025
But this month is packed with potential land mines that can disrupt the stock market’s momentum.
—
Fred Imbert, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2025
When Jordan sealed its border in 2016 after an ISIS attack killed six Jordanian soldiers, most of the Syrian civilians were trapped — unable to move forward or go back through roads controlled by the Syrian regime or even move through a desert laid with land mines.
—
Jane Arraf, NPR, 24 Dec. 2024
While many countries have inked conventions banning or limiting the use of land mines and cluster weapons, there may be a moment where NATO's European states look hard at whether these unsavory weapons could be crucial for its own defense.
—
Ellie Cook, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1890, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near land mine
Cite this Entry
“Land mine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/land%20mine. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
land mine
noun
: a mine placed just below the surface of the ground and designed to be exploded by the weight of the vehicles or troops passing over it
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