mainland

noun

main·​land ˈmān-ˌland 

-lənd

: a continent or the main part of a continent as distinguished from an offshore island or sometimes from a cape or peninsula

mainlander

ˈmān-ˌlan-dər 

-lən-

noun

Synonyms

• continent

Examples of mainland in a Sentence

the boat back to the mainland leaves once every two days

Recent Examples on the Web

The streaming platform revealed that the latest installment will debut as a Viu original worldwide, excluding South Korea and mainland China, following the record-breaking performance of Season 2. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 June 2025

While global finance institutions and investors have long been interested in diversifying to China, Beijing’s strict controls on capital outflows and relatively opaque system have discouraged large-scale buying of mainland China assets. —Lee Ying Shan,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 25 June 2025

The third season will launch in the fourth quarter of 2025 as a Viu original across global markets — excluding South Korea and mainland China — following the breakout success of the show’s first two seasons. —Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2025

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished up 2% and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite was 1.2% higher on the day. —Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 24 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mainland

• armband
• backhand
• bandstand
• baseband
• broadband
• command
• cropland
• demand
• disband
• dreamland
• expand
• farmhand

Kids Definition

mainland

noun

main·​land ˈmān-ˌland 

-lənd

: a continent or the main part of a continent as distinguished from an offshore island or sometimes from a cape or peninsula

mainlander noun

Geographical Definition

Mainland

geographical name

Main·​land ˈmān-ˌland 

-lənd

1

honshu

2

island in northern Scotland; largest of the Orkney Islands

3

island in northern Scotland; largest of the Shetland Islands