Land

/lænd/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water.
  • Grammar: land is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: country, earth, ground, nation.
  • Useful contrasts: adriatic, aquatic body, arctic ice island.
  • Usage evidence: Tomorrow, he will land on the moon.

How to use "land"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "land" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "land" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "land" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "land" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "land" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "country" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "land", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water. countable, uncountable

    "Most insects live on land."

  2. 2
    lant; urine uncountable
  3. 3
    agriculture considered as an occupation or way of life wordnet
  4. 4
    Real estate or landed property; a partitioned and measurable area which is owned and acquired and on which buildings and structures can be built and erected. countable, uncountable

    "There are 50 acres of land in this estate."

  5. 5
    the people who live in a nation or country wordnet
Show 23 more definitions
  1. 6
    A country or region. countable, uncountable

    "They come from a faraway land."

  2. 7
    a politically organized body of people under a single government wordnet
  3. 8
    A person's country of origin and/or homeplace; homeland. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    the territory occupied by a nation wordnet
  5. 10
    The soil, in respect to its nature or quality for farming. countable, uncountable

    "wet land"

  6. 11
    territory over which rule or control is exercised wordnet
  7. 12
    Realm, domain. countable, in-compounds, often, uncountable

    "I'm going to Disneyland."

  8. 13
    the solid part of the earth's surface wordnet
  9. 14
    The ground left unploughed between furrows. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use) wordnet
  11. 16
    Any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    extensive landed property (especially in the country) retained by the owner for their own use wordnet
  13. 18
    A shock or fright. Ireland, colloquial, countable, uncountable

    "He got an awful land when the police arrived."

  14. 19
    the land on which real estate is located wordnet
  15. 20
    A conducting area on a board or chip which can be used for connecting wires. countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    a domain in which something is dominant wordnet
  17. 22
    On a compact disc or similar recording medium, an area of the medium which does not have pits. countable, uncountable

    "Now, assume that the recording is being done with 100 grooves per inch, and that the record groove is .006 inch wide. This means that the land on either side on any given groove in the absence of sound waves is .004 inch."

  18. 23
    The non-airline portion of an itinerary. Hotel, tours, cruises, etc. countable, uncountable

    "Our city offices sell a lot more land than our suburban offices."

  19. 24
    The ground or floor. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "her selfe vppon the land / She did prostrate"

  20. 25
    The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; called also landing. countable, uncountable
  21. 26
    In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, such as the level part of a millstone between the furrows. countable, uncountable
  22. 27
    In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, such as the level part of a millstone between the furrows.; The space between the rifling grooves in a gun. countable, uncountable

    "The FBI maintains a database, the General Rifling Characteristics (GRC) file, which is organized by caliber, number of lands and grooves, direction of twist, and width of lands and grooves, to help an examiner figure out the origin of a recovered bullet."

  23. 28
    A group of dwellings or tenements under one roof and having a common entry. Scotland, countable, historical, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To descend to a surface, especially from the air. intransitive

    "The plane is about to land."

  2. 2
    bring into a different state wordnet
  3. 3
    To alight, to descend from a vehicle. dated

    "10. You will be civil and attentive to passengers, giving proper assistance to ladies and children getting in or out, and never start the car before passengers are fairly received or landed."

  4. 4
    reach or come to rest wordnet
  5. 5
    To come into rest. intransitive
Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    cause to come to the ground wordnet
  2. 7
    To arrive on land, especially a shore or dock, from a body of water. intransitive

    "Tatan and Erhtan are two small islands in the sea southwest of Kinmen.[…]A contingent of some 30 Communist troops tried to land at Erhtan, but were disarmed by Government defenders."

  3. 8
    shoot at and force to come down wordnet
  4. 9
    To bring to land. transitive

    "It can be tricky to land a helicopter."

  5. 10
    arrive on shore wordnet
  6. 11
    To capture or arrest. informal, transitive

    "`He told me that he was certain that Coates shot at him. We threw out a drag and landed Coates within an hour.'"

  7. 12
    bring ashore wordnet
  8. 13
    To acquire; to secure. transitive

    "She landed a job at the company."

  9. 14
    deliver (a blow) wordnet
  10. 15
    To succeed in having sexual relations with; to score. slang, transitive

    "Too ugly to ever land a chick."

  11. 16
    To deliver. transitive

    "If you land a knockout blow, you’ll win the match."

  12. 17
    To connect (to arrive at an intended target). intransitive

    "If the punches land, you might lose a few teeth!"

  13. 18
    To go down well with an audience. figuratively, intransitive

    "Some of the comedian's jokes failed to land."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Middle English.

    "After the success of Secret of Monkey Island (1990), composer Michael Land longed for a more flexible system to integrate his music into a game."

Synonyms

All synonyms
countryearthgroundnationrealmsoil

Antonyms

adriaticaquatic bodyarctic ice islandarctic ocean basin

Example

"Tomorrow, he will land on the moon."

Common questions

What does "land" mean?

The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water.

What is a synonym for "land"?

Common synonyms include: country, earth, ground, nation, realm, soil.

How do you use "land" in a sentence?

Tomorrow, he will land on the moon.

How do you pronounce "land"?

Pronounced /lænd/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Germanic *landą Proto-West Germanic *land Old English land Middle English lond English land From Middle English lond, land, from Old English land, from Proto-West Germanic *land, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”), from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“land, heath”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laund (“land”), Yola lhoan, lloan, loan, londe, lone (“land”), North Frisian loun, luin, lun, Lön, lönj, löön (“land”), Saterland Frisian Lound (“land”), West Frisian lân (“land”), Limburgish Land, landj, Laïnt (“land”), Dutch land (“land, country”), Luxembourgish and German Land (“land, country, state”), Vilamovian łaond (“land”), Danish, Elfdalian, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish land (“land, country, shore, territory”). Non-Germanic cognates include Old Irish lann (“heath”), Welsh llan (“enclosure”), Breton lann (“heath”), Old Church Slavonic лѧдо (lędo), from Proto-Slavic *lędo (“heath, wasteland”), French lande (“heath”) and Albanian lëndinë (“heath, grassland”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English *land, from Old English hland. More at lant.

More for "land"

Synonyms

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