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 Kissinger

a political land mine

Synonyms of land mine

• hitch
• risk
• snag
• booby trap

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

The situation in Oleshky is desperate, with food and medical supplies running perilously low for the up to 2,000 people still there, as drones and land mines restrict movement. — Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2026

Animosity between the Koreas have deepened since last month’s land mine blasts at the border that injured three South Korean soldiers. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026

The pledge follows land mine blasts that injured three South Korean soldiers; Seoul says North Korea planted the mines, while Pyongyang denies responsibility and threatens retaliation. — Kim Tong-Hyung, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Without the explosives, a land mine is just so much tin, so why not forget about the casing and go straight for the explosive? — New Atlas, 12 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for land mine

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• brucine
• byline

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