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

• hitch
• risk
• snag
• booby trap

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

Ukraine exiting anti-land-mine pact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to withdraw Ukraine from the Ottawa Convention banning antipersonnel land mines, a Ukrainian lawmaker said Sunday. —Volodymyr Yurchuk, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree to withdraw Ukraine from the Ottawa Convention banning antipersonnel land mines, a Ukrainian lawmaker said Sunday. —Volodymyr Yurchuk, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2025

Leaving the reunion with Botsford, Lardner dies when a land mine blows up his jeep. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 5 May 2025

The use of land mines by the combatants poses a constant danger. —Diane Cole, NPR, 19 June 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