heartland

noun

heart·​land ˈhärt-ˌland 

: a central area: such as

a

: a central land area (such as northern Eurasia) having strategic advantages

b

: the central geographical region of the U.S. in which mainstream or traditional values predominate

c

: a region where something (such as an industry or activity) most strongly thrives

the heartland of high technology

Examples of heartland in a Sentence

We drove into Scotland's heartland.

a politician who is popular in the American heartland

the heartland of high technology

Recent Examples on the Web

Ahead of the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had not dropped its insistence on Ukraine yielding all of its eastern area of Donbas - Ukraine's industrial heartland grouping the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. —Reuters, NBC news, 24 Jan. 2026

Collectively known as the Donbas, the two coal-rich eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk used to be Ukraine’s industrial heartland. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026

Oregon’s Pinot Noir heartland is the Willamette Valley, where the climate is cooler, wetter, and more unpredictable. —Emily Price, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

No one tells the story of water in California’s heartland in more detail, or with more tenacity, than Lois Henry. —James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heartland

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

Kids Definition

heartland

noun

heart·​land ˈhärt-ˌland 

: a central land area

especially : one of great economic and military importance