land

noun, often attributive

\ ˈland

Definition of land

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : the solid part of the surface of the earth also : a corresponding part of a celestial body (such as the moon)

b : ground or soil of a specified situation, nature, or quality dry land

c : the surface of the earth and all its natural resources

2 : a portion of the earth's solid surface distinguishable by boundaries or ownership bought land in the country : such as

a : country the finest cheese in all the land

b : a rural area characterized by farming or ranching also : farming or ranching as a way of life wanted to move back to the land

3 : realm, domain in the land of dreams —sometimes used in combination TV-land

4 : the people of a country the land rose in rebellion

5 : an area of a partly machined surface (such as the inside of a gun barrel) that is left without machining

land

verb

landed; landing; lands

Definition of land (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to set or put on shore from a ship : disembark

2a : to set down after conveying

b : to cause to reach or come to rest in a particular place never landed a punch

c : to bring to a specified condition his wit landed him in trouble

d : to bring to a landing land an airplane

e : to complete successfully by landing the skater landed all her jumps

3a : to catch and bring in land a fish

b : gain, secure land a job landed the leading role

intransitive verb

1a : to go ashore from a ship : disembark

b of a ship or boat : to touch at a place on shore

2a : to come to the end of a course or to a stage in a journey : arrive took a wrong turn and landed on a dead-end street

b : to come to be in a condition or situation landed in jail

c : to strike or meet a surface (as after a fall) landed on my head

d : to alight on a surface

Land

biographical name

\ ˈland

Definition of Land (Entry 3 of 3)

Edwin Herbert 1909–1991 American inventor and industrialist

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Synonyms for land

Synonyms: Noun

commonwealth, country, nation, sovereignty (also sovranty), state

Synonyms: Verb

anchor, dock

Examples of land in a Sentence

Noun

the land along the highway The land stretched as far as you could see. They cleared some land to grow crops. After two days of sailing, we were miles from land. They invaded the country by land and by sea. They own land in Alaska. They bought some land and built a house. His lands extend as far as the eye can see. He was the most powerful politician in the land. the lands of the Far East

Verb

The plane landed on the runway. We watched the seaplanes landing on the water. The bird landed in a tree. A butterfly landed on the flower. Our flight was scheduled to land in Pittsburgh at 4:00. It was raining heavily at the airport when we landed. The pilot was able to land the plane on the runway. The golf ball landed in the trees. I could not see where the ball landed. The cat fell from the tree but landed on its feet.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This is all especially true for large supermarkets, which need a lot of land and parking, as well as the ability to accommodate large trucks. — Jessica Booth, Redbook, "Everything You Need To Know About Food Deserts," 29 Apr. 2019 The fictional home sits on 40 acres of land and includes a private beach, tennis courts, and a perfect view of that green blinking light across the water. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "Here’s How Much It Would Cost to Rent the Insane Mansion in The Great Gatsby For The Night," 19 Apr. 2019 Look for our review soon after the May 2019 release preview lands, sometime in the next week or two. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Microsoft will ship the Windows 10 May 2019 Update in late May, giving you power over updates," 4 Apr. 2019 Her husband received 320 acres of land and $500.33. — Ruth Hopkins, Teen Vogue, "Sacagawea Changed the Course of History and Deserves Respect," 11 Jan. 2019 Each year, Good Friday lands on the Friday before the liturgical observance of Easter Sunday, which varies year-by-year. — Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, "When Is Good Friday? Here's Everything You Need to Know," 13 Feb. 2019 As well as preventing any flights from taking off, the suspension meant that numerous inbound flights had to be diverted to other London-area airports, while other flights were forced to land in Paris and Amsterdam. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Wealth managers and charities are looking forward to an IPO-rich 2019," 21 Dec. 2018 There’s a struggle for land in Mana Pools; not just because of predators lurking in certain parts, but also because some humans have disrupted the environment. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, "BBC Earth's "Dynasties" Pulls at Heartstrings With the Painted Wolves’ Fight for Survival," 12 Dec. 2018 But before any of that happens, Michael first has to make it to the finals episode and land in the top five. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'America's Got Talent' Judge Simon Cowell Did Something Amazing for Michael Ketterer Last Night," 5 Sep. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Fans have strong feelings about Jenna landing the job. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'Today' Host Kathie Lee Gifford Reacts to Jenna Bush Hager Replacing Her," 26 Feb. 2019 That’s because landing anything on Mars is the worst. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Hanging out at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory," 27 Nov. 2018 That doesn't mean landing there will be a breeze on Oct. 3, however. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "Landing Site on Asteroid Ryugu Chosen for Japan's Hayabusa2 Mission," 23 Aug. 2018 In 2011, the Fiesta Bowl was embroiled by scandal with the revelation of a scheme of improprieties landed bowl CEO John Junker in prison for eight months. — Ross Dellenger, SI.com, "Did the LSU-Alabama Rematch Really Kill the BCS?," 10 July 2018 Nonetheless, the changelog is still filled with plenty of interesting tweaks and additions that will make your phone better than ever once the OS lands in late summer. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "7 tweaks and changes in Android Q that will make your phone better than it is now," 13 Mar. 2019 In total, four crew members were hospitalized after the plane landed at Minneapolis-St. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Crew Hospitalized After Strange 'Burnt Plastic' Smell Wafts into Alaska Airlines Plane," 1 Mar. 2019 Just days after her Reputation stadium tour landed on Netflix, fans sounded the Easter egg alarm on Twitter. — Halie Lesavage, Glamour, "Taylor Swift Fans Are Convinced That Her New Music Will Be About Mermaids," 3 Jan. 2019 In April 2001, when reporting on the Sri Lankan civil war, Marie lost her left eye after a grenade landed near her and shrapnel pierced her retina. — Janine Di Giovanni, Town & Country, "Hollywood Chameleon Rosamund Pike Tackles the Life Story of War Correspondent Marie Colvin," 15 Nov. 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near land

Statistics for land

Last Updated

15 May 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for land

The first known use of land was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for land

land

noun

English Language Learners Definition of land

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the solid part of the surface of the Earth : an area of ground

: an area of the earth's solid surface that is owned by someone

: a country or nation

land

verb

English Language Learners Definition of land (Entry 2 of 2)

: to return to the ground or another surface after a flight

: to cause (an airplane, helicopter, etc.) to return to the ground or another surface after a flight

: to hit or come to a surface after falling or moving through the air

See the full definition for land in the English Language Learners Dictionary

land

noun

\ ˈland

Kids Definition of land

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the solid part of the surface of the earth

2 : an area of ground or soil of a particular kind fertile land

3 : a part of the earth's surface marked off by boundaries They bought some land.

4 : a country or nation your native land

5 : the people of a country All the land rose in rebellion.

land

verb

landed; landing

Kids Definition of land (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to go ashore or cause to go ashore from a ship The troops landed on the island.

2 : to come down or bring down and settle on a surface The airplane landed.

3 : to hit or come to a surface I fell and landed on my back.

4 : to be or cause to be in a particular place or condition He landed in jail.

5 : to catch and bring in land a fish

6 : to succeed in getting land a job

land

noun

Legal Definition of land

1 : an area of the earth usually inclusive of improvements, bodies of water, and natural or man-made objects and extending indefinitely upward and downward — compare air right

2 : an estate, interest, or right in land land means both surface and mineral rights — California Public Resources Code