hinterland
noun
Did you know?
When you're dealing with geography, it helps to know your hinterland from your umland. In the late 19th century, geographer George Chisholm took note of 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. Nowadays, hinterland has a less technical use as well—it can be used for land that is simply out in the sticks. It can also be applied figuratively.
Examples of hinterland in a Sentence
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
This is where Asia features, with its vast land and maritime hinterland serving as a huge market and a source of fossil fuel demand, security partnerships (an example of this is discussions underway with India), technology, and people.
—Vasuki Shastry, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
On arrival, guests are paired with a personal local guide–think of it as the hinterland’s answer to a butler—on hand to arrange everything from restaurant bookings to last-minute requests, typically handled with a quick text.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
Moreover, as soon as Christianity began to spread outside his native land, Christian converts faced new situations in unexpected contexts, completely different from those of their founder, an itinerant Jewish preacher in the sparsely populated hinterlands of rural Galilee.
—Big Think, 26 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Hinterland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hinterland. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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hinterland
noun
