mainland

noun

main·​land ˈmān-ˌland 

-lənd

: a continent or the main part of a continent as distinguished from an offshore island or sometimes from a cape or peninsula

mainlander

ˈmān-ˌlan-dər 

-lən-

noun

Synonyms

• continent

Examples of mainland in a Sentence

the boat back to the mainland leaves once every two days

Recent Examples on the Web

Later, when Doyle comes into some mysterious bags of cash, and heads toward the mainland with a bottle of booze, a boat, and one last chance to go out in a blaze of self-immolation, Farrell manages to mix dread and adrenaline into every silent expression. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025

While spending by Chinese tourists abroad was still down in the double digits, the performance in mainland China turned positive in the third quarter, with growth in the mid- to high-single digits, Cabanis said. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2025

More than 70% of the company’s revenue came from outside mainland China in 2024 , while Geekplus claims its customers include more than 65 Forbes Global 500 companies . —Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025

It is situated in the busy Gulf of Finland, 14 nautical miles from the Estonian mainland and 29 miles south of the Finnish mainland. —David Brennan, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mainland

• armband
• backhand
• bandstand
• baseband
• broadband
• command
• cropland
• demand
• disband
• dreamland
• expand
• farmhand

Kids Definition

mainland

noun

main·​land ˈmān-ˌland 

-lənd

: a continent or the main part of a continent as distinguished from an offshore island or sometimes from a cape or peninsula

mainlander noun

Geographical Definition

Mainland

geographical name

Main·​land ˈmān-ˌland 

-lənd

1

honshu

2

island in northern Scotland; largest of the Orkney Islands

3

island in northern Scotland; largest of the Shetland Islands