landfall

noun

land·​fall ˈlan(d)-ˌfȯl 

1

: a sighting of land after a voyage or flight

2

: a reaching of land (as by a traveler, craft, or storm)

3

: the land first sighted on a voyage or flight

Examples of landfall in a Sentence

From the deck of the boat, we saw our first landfall.

Recent Examples on the Web

Infants were impacted more than any other group—and many died at least twenty-one months after the storm in question, meaning that they had not been conceived at the time of landfall. —Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025

Typhoon Kalmaegi — the deadliest typhoon to hit Asia this year — is barreling toward Vietnam, with landfall expected within hours. —Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025

Melissa ripped across Jamaica with torrential rain and rough winds after making landfall on Tuesday as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most powerful landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2025

Before landfall, authorities also reported the storm caused three deaths in Jamaica and three in Haiti. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing landfall

• make landfall

Rhymes for landfall

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

landfall

noun

land·​fall ˈlan(d)-ˌfȯl 

1

: a sighting or making of land after a voyage or flight

2

: the land first sighted on a voyage or flight