hinterland

noun hin·ter·land \ ˈhin-tər-ˌland , -lənd \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of hinterland

1 : a region lying inland from a coast

2 a : a region remote from urban areas

b : a region lying beyond major metropolitan or cultural centers

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Examples of hinterland in a Sentence

the colonies hugged the coastline, while the hinterland remained largely unexplored

Recent Examples of hinterland from the Web

Later, she was confined for nearly a decade to a bleak township deep in South Africa’s rural hinterlands, where police twice set fire to her house.

— ryan lenora brown, The Christian Science Monitor, "Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: For many South Africans, 'She was the movement'," 3 Apr. 2018
In this picture Planet Nine might have been an outbound world that plowed through enough debris to slow down and get trapped in the solar hinterlands.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "Looking for Planet Nine, Astronomers Gaze into the Abyss," 22 Mar. 2018
Revenues from the sale of oil, gas and phosphate are not invested in infrastructure that might encourage enterprise, especially in the neglected hinterland, where the commodities are extracted.

— The Economist, "The seven-year itchTunisia needs help if it is to remain a model for the Arab world," 18 Jan. 2018
Nearly 70% of them voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, impelled by his populist fervor and his promise to restore greatness to these left-behind American hinterlands.

— Time, "Democrats Eye an Upset in Pennsylvania's Special Election," 13 Mar. 2018
When wages rise because of retention problems or labor unrest, the Chinese government is happy to help Apple and others by handing out tax breaks and transportation projects to spur new, lower-paying factories in China’s hinterlands.

— beth macy, New York Times, "We Are What We Manufacture," 9 Mar. 2018
More recently, the militants—long based in the desert hinterland adjacent to Egypt’s border with Israel and Gaza—have carried out a number of attacks inside El Arish.

— jared malsin, WSJ, "Egypt Targets Islamic State Militants Who May Have Slipped Into Sinai City," 8 Mar. 2018
Expeditions to the Trumpish hinterlands will depart immediately.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Trump Is Coming Apart as the World Comes Apart Around Him," 2 Mar. 2018
The woman who has fled her own hinterland for the ragged fringe of London discovers a dreamlike city of melancholy magic.

— The Economist, "A river runs through itEsther Kinsky muses on a river in England," 18 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hinterland.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

When you're dealing with geography, it helps to know your hinterland from your umland. In 1888, geographer George Chisholm borrowed the German word Hinterland (literally, "land in back of") and applied it specifically to the region just inland from a port or coastal settlement. (Chisholm spelled the word hinderland, but English speakers eventually settled on "hinterland.") Early in the 20th century, another geographer adopted the German Umland ("land around") to refer to the territory around an inland town. What "hinterland" and "umland" have in common is a reference to a region economically tied to a nearby city. But nowadays "hinterland" has a less technical use as well; it's used for land that's simply out in the sticks.