landfall
noun
land·fall
ˈlan(d)-ˌfȯl 
1
: a sighting of land after a voyage or flight
2
: a reaching of land (as by a traveler, craft, or storm)
3
: the land first sighted on a voyage or flight
Examples of landfall in a Sentence
From the deck of the boat, we saw our first landfall.
Recent Examples on the Web
Storm tracks So far this year, the United States has been fortunate to avoid a direct hurricane landfall in a season that was forecast to be busier than normal.
—
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Kiko—a Category 4 hurricane at the time of writing—has the potential to make a rare landfall in Hawaii, according to AccuWeather.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
In the days after landfall, the outpouring of grassroots support kept growing, far beyond the word-count limits of a newspaper.
—Angele Latham, The Tennessean, 29 Aug. 2025
After the Storm In the 20 years after Katrina’s catastrophic landfall, much has been made of the improvements to the levees, floodwalls, and pumping stations designed to protect Gulf Coast communities from flooding.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for landfall
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
Kiko—a Category 4 hurricane at the time of writing—has the potential to make a rare landfall in Hawaii, according to AccuWeather.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
In the days after landfall, the outpouring of grassroots support kept growing, far beyond the word-count limits of a newspaper.
—Angele Latham, The Tennessean, 29 Aug. 2025
After the Storm In the 20 years after Katrina’s catastrophic landfall, much has been made of the improvements to the levees, floodwalls, and pumping stations designed to protect Gulf Coast communities from flooding.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for landfall
Cite this Entry
“Landfall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landfall. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
landfall
noun
land·fall
ˈlan(d)-ˌfȯl
1
: a sighting or making of land after a voyage or flight
2
: the land first sighted on a voyage or flight
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share