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
Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2026
Expertise was often distributed between cities and their hinterlands, with cities functioning as hubs in cross-continental product networks.
—R. Alexander Bentley, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
News of trouble in the Florida hinterlands could take nearly a month to reach the Oval Office.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
Bird seemed to be torn between Indiana and Indiana State, a small program that was playing in the hinterlands of Division I basketball, in danger of being banished to Division II, about to fire its head coach, and incapable of filling its new arena in Terre Haute.
—Keith O'Brien, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hinterland
Cite this Entry
“Hinterland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hinterland. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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hinterland
noun
