borderland

noun

bor·​der·​land ˈbȯr-dər-ˌland 

1

a

: territory at or near a border

b

: fringe sense 3a

lives on the borderland of society

2

: a vague intermediate state or region

the borderland between fantasy and reality

Synonyms

• border

Examples of borderland in a Sentence

in the borderland between sleeping and waking

He describes adolescence as the tumultuous borderlands between childhood and adulthood.

Recent Examples on the Web

Violence in the borderlands between the countries -- which split when South Sudan gained independence in 2011 -- leaves the world's youngest nation in a precarious place only seven years after a cease-fire in its own civil war. —Chris Boccia, ABC News, 22 July 2025

Since 1984, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state that has cost over 40,000 lives and transformed borderlands into militarized zones. —Tanya Goudsouzian, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025

In the borderlands, switching between languages is normal. —Rachel Ashcroft july 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025

Then, in 2014, a group of birdwatchers in the Southern Arizona borderlands got tick bites and a weird fever. —Clara Migoya, AZCentral.com, 12 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

borderland

noun

bor·​der·​land ˈbȯrd-ər-ˌland 

1

: territory at or near a border : frontier

2

: an unclear condition or region separating two clearly different ones

the borderland between sleeping and waking