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

The line of four large and heavily defended cities, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) long, has been key to denying Moscow its goal of seizing Ukraine's industrial heartland. — ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026

Evidence like the personalized sling bullets now indicate combat occurred closer to the Ceretani heartland. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 July 2026

But analysts say next year’s election in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state and the BJP’s political heartland, will offer the first real measure of whether the Cockroach movement has lasting electoral consequences. — Aakash Hassan, Christian Science Monitor, 30 July 2026

Intergenerational transmission in the home is now the exception, even in the traditional Gaelic heartlands of the Western Isles. — Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 July 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