public land

noun

: land owned by a government

specifically : that part of the U.S. public domain subject to sale or disposal under the homestead laws

Examples of public land in a Sentence

the management of public lands

The government will auction off 20 parcels of public land.

Recent Examples on the Web

In Utah, federal land managers have closed public lands near the Cottonwood Fire as a precaution, and in New Mexico, forest officials closed campgrounds and trails near a wildfire burning in the Jemez Mountains. — CBS News, 27 June 2026

Those included culverts and other structures associated with rivers that might be used by trout, and that are close to public lands. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2026

Several letters warned that more than 5,000 oil and gas leases on more than 4 million acres of public land could be invalidated by the CRA. — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 25 June 2026

The Bureau of Land Management recently authorized construction of access roads, groundwater monitoring wells, and overhead power infrastructure on public land within the project area. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for public land

• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland
• motherland

Legal Definition

public land

noun

: land owned by a government