Word for the day: land

land |lænd|                                                                         *tierra (en Español)



DEFINITION

noun
1 [ mass noun ] the part of the earth's surface that is not covered by water: the reptiles lay their eggs on land |after four weeks at sea we sighted land.• [ as modifier ] living or travelling on land rather than in water or the air: a land force.• an area of ground, especially in terms of its ownership or use: he bought 360 acres of land | waste land |(lands) : measures to reduce logging on federal lands.• (the land) ground or soil used as a basis for agriculture: my family had worked the land for many years.• (the land) rural areas and the rural way of life.• [ count noun ] S. Africanan area fenced off for cultivation; a field.[from Dutch land ‘piece of ground’.]2 a country or state: the valley is one of the most beautiful in the land | the lands of the Middle East.• [ in combination ] a particular sphere of activity or group of people: the blunt, charmless climate of techno-land.• a conceptual area: you're living in a fantasy land.3 the space between the rifling grooves in a gun.

verb
1 [ with obj. ] put (someone or something) on land from a boat: he landed his troops at Hastings.• [ no obj. ] go ashore; disembark: the marines landed at a small jetty.• bring (a fish) to land with a net or rod.• informal succeed in obtaining or achieving (something desirable), especially in the face of competition: she landed the starring role in a new film.2 [ no obj. ] come down through the air and rest on the ground or another surface: we will shortly be landing at Gatwick | a fly landed on Tom's nose.• [ with obj. ] bring (an aircraft or spacecraft) to the ground or the surface of water in a controlled way.• reach the ground after falling or jumping: he leapt over the fence and landed nimbly on his feet.• [ with adverbial of place ] (of an object) come to rest after falling or being thrown: the plate landed in her lap.3 [ no obj. ] informal (of something undesirable or unexpected) arrive suddenly: there were more problems than ever landing on her desk.4 [ with obj. ] (land someone in) informal cause someone to be in (a difficult situation): his exploits always landed him in trouble.• (land someone with) inflict (an unwelcome task or difficult situation) on someone: the mistake landed the company with a massive bill.5 [ with obj. ] informal inflict (a blow) on someone: I won the fight without landing a single punch.
PHRASES
how the land lies Brit.what the situation is: let's keep it to ourselves until we see how the land lies.in the land of the living humorous alive or awake.the land of the free the United States of America.the land of Nod humorous a state of sleep.[punningly, with biblical allusion to the place name Nod (Gen. 4:16).]land (or fall ) on one's feet have good luck or success.live off the land live on whatever food one can obtain by hunting, gathering, or subsistence farming.
PHRASAL VERBS
land up reach a place or situation: the ship landed up on the south coast of Devon | I landed up in prison.land up with end up with (an unwelcome situation): I landed up with three broken ribs.
ORIGIN Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch land and German Land .

Written by NativeEnglish

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