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

For The Times) One of the morning panelists, UC Davis associate professor Alessandro Ossola, recounted the process of cataloging more than 200 types of trees on public lands in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

He was dispatched to the Alaska Peninsula to do biological inventories on public land that was up for lease to private companies. — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Today, what might have become another extraordinary private double waterfront compound is instead public land. — Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026

This route crosses from Montana into Wyoming via public lands like Shoshone. — Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 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