Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin:

land

1 noun
     
land1 S1 W1
1

ground

[uncountable] an area of ground, especially when used for farming or building:
500 acres of land
a piece of open land (=land which has not been built on)
housing/industrial etc land
a shortage of housing land
land prices
 ➔ dockland, farmland ➔ see usage note ground1
2

not sea

[uncountable] the solid dry part of the Earth's surface:
After 21 days at sea, we sighted land.
by land
Troops began an assault on the city by land and sea.
on land
The crocodile lays its eggs on land.
land bird/animal
The white stork is one of the biggest land birds of the region.
➔ dry land
3

country

[countable] literary a country or area:
Their journey took them to many foreign lands.
native land (=the land where you were born)
He's fiercely proud of his native land.
Australia represented a real land of opportunity for thousands of people.
4

not city

the land

the countryside thought of as a place where people grow food
live off the land (=grow or catch all the food you need)
A third of the region's population still lives off the land.
work/farm the land (=grow crops)
Many people were forced to give up working the land.
5

property

[uncountable] the area of land that someone owns:
He ordered us to get off his land.
6

see/find out how the land lies

spoken to try to discover what the situation really is before you make a decision
7

in the land of the living

spoken awake - used humorously
8

the land of milk and honey

an imaginary place where life is easy and pleasant
9

(in) the land of nod

old-fashioned asleep

➔ be/live in cloud-cuckoo-land

at cloud1 (7), dry land, dreamland, fairyland

➔ the lie of the land

at lie3 (3) ➔ never-never land ➔ promised land ➔ wasteland ➔ wonderlandWORD CHOICE: WORD CHOICE:

ground, land, earth, soil, floorThe ground is the surface that you walk on when you are outdoors • There were a few flakes of snow on the ground. • an area of muddy groundland is an area of ground that is owned or controlled by someone • They were on his land. • land set aside for housingIt is also the part of the earth's surface that is not covered in water • animals that live on landearth or soil is the soft substance that covers the ground and that plants grow in • Green shoots peeped through the earth. • fertile soilThe Earth or earth is also the planet that we live on.The floor is the surface that you walk on when you are indoors • There's mud all over the floor! ➔ See also ground
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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