land mine

noun

: a mine usually placed just below the surface of the ground and designed to be exploded usually by the weight of vehicles or troops passing over it

—often used figuratively

Every aspect of this scheme is a potential land mine.

—Henry A. Kissinger

a political land mine

Synonyms

• booby trap
• catch
• catch-22
• gimmick
• gotcha
• hitch
• joker
• pitfall
• snag

Examples of land mine in a Sentence

parents of teenagers never know when they might set off an emotional land mine

Recent Examples on the Web

Many land mines are visible to the naked eye, but others are more sophisticated and harder to detect. —Ghaith Alsayed and Sally Abou Aljoud, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025

Many land mines are still visible to the naked eye, but others are more sophisticated and harder to detect. —Arkansas Online, 21 Apr. 2025

In 2023, land mines killed or wounded 5,757 individuals around the globe. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025

Drug prices are a political land mine, and companies are loath to raise prices given the anger among lawmakers and the public over medical costs. —Joseph Choi, The Hill, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for land mine

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

land mine

noun

: a mine placed just below the surface of the ground and designed to be exploded by the weight of the vehicles or troops passing over it