landing

noun

land·​ing ˈlan-diŋ 

1

: an act or process of one that lands

especially : a going or bringing to a surface (such as land or shore) after a voyage or flight

2

: a place for discharging and taking on passengers and cargo

3

: a level part of a staircase (as at the end of a flight of stairs)

4

landings plural : the amount of fish or shellfish landed annually in a particular area

Synonyms

• dock
• float
• jetty
• levee
• pier
• quai
• quay
• wharf

Examples of landing in a Sentence

The plane made a smooth landing.

The helicopter had to make an emergency landing.

The pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings.

Landing in high winds can be dangerous.

Our plane was cleared for landing.

We stopped to rest at the first floor landing.

I waited at the landing for the ferry.

Recent Examples on the Web

While investors have their fingers crossed for a soft landing by the U.S. economy, how bad can things get if there is another recession? —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025

And the makeup woman said, yes, her father had been on Juno, one of the British landings, but would never speak about it. —Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 27 May 2025

The departure comes as aircraft assigned to the warship conduct field carrier landing practice on Iwo To, a Japanese island located 750 miles south of Tokyo. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025

Nathan Fielder is taking to the skies — and sticking the landing. —EW.com, 26 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing landing

• dead-stick landing
• instrument landing
• landing craft
• landing field
• landing gear
• landing strip
• moon landing
• pancake landing
• three-point landing

Rhymes for landing

• banding
• branding
• handing
• sanding
• standing
• stranding
• commanding
• demanding
• disbanding
• expanding
• freestanding
• misbranding

Kids Definition

landing

noun

land·​ing ˈlan-diŋ 

1

: the action of one that lands

2

: a place (as a wharf) for unloading or taking on passengers and cargo

3

: the level part of a staircase (as between flights of stairs)