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

Areas with the greatest chance of seeing landfall from a major hurricane include the Gulf Coast, from the Florida panhandle west to Brownsville, Texas. —Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Apr. 2025

Part of the Atmospheric River Reconnaissance program, another of Scripps, involves launching radiosondes in different areas of the state, collecting information to predict better the structure and landfall of atmospheric rivers. —Jake Goodrick, Sacramento Bee, 11 Feb. 2025

The back-to-back hurricanes that barreled into the Gulf Coast of Florida before causing widespread damage far beyond initial landfall began with Hurricane Helene. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 28 Dec. 2024

There are approximately 1,167 hurricane landfalls listed. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 20 Apr. 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