as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
the city's decayed industrial quarter is a no-man's-land of abandoned factories and weedy vacant lots
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Recent Examples of no-man's-land
When this happens, their planet goes back and forth between being a searing, endless stretch of desert or frozen no-man's-land.
—
Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Abandoned by King Hassan II for its association with the Rif mountain revolts after Moroccan independence, in 1956, Tangier became a dilapidated drive-through, a no-man's-land for another 50 years.
—Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2023
Today, guerrillas, drug smugglers, poachers, and jaguars rule this vast no-man's-land.
—David Ewing Duncan, Outside Online, 17 May 2022
Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Abandoned by King Hassan II for its association with the Rif mountain revolts after Moroccan independence, in 1956, Tangier became a dilapidated drive-through, a no-man's-land for another 50 years.
—Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2023
Today, guerrillas, drug smugglers, poachers, and jaguars rule this vast no-man's-land.
—David Ewing Duncan, Outside Online, 17 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for no-man's-land
desert
Noun
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Locals call it one of the last truly wild places in Texas, where quail, elk and desert bighorn sheep roam.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
28 Feb. 2026
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Late Thursday night the Taliban’s military launched attacks on Pakistani positions along some sections of their porous and disputed border that wends 1,600 miles through rugged mountains and desert.—
Sophia Saifi,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“No-man's-land.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/no-man%27s-land. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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