land

land

I

land¹ S1 W1 /lænd/ noun1.  GROUND  [uncountable] an area of ground, especially when used for farming or building:
    They own a lot of land.
    He bought a piece of land. ⇨ dockland, farmland
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.
    private/public/common 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, wonderland
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ phrases
   ▪ an acre/hectare of land The family owned hundreds of acres of land.
   ▪ a piece of land (=an area of land) He built a house on a piece of land near the river.
   ▪ a plot/parcel of land (=a piece of land) They farmed a small plot of land.
   ▪ a strip of land (=a narrow piece of land) They owned the strip of land between the forest and the sea.
   ▪ a tract of land (=a large area of land) Cattle ranching requires large tracts of land.
■ adjectives
   ▪ fertile/rich (=good for growing crops) The land near the river is very fertile.
   ▪ poor (=not good for growing crops) It is poor land that should never have been farmed.
   ▪ vacant/derelict British English (=unused) The houses could be built on derelict land.
   ▪ open land (=land on which there are no buildings) In the middle of the city are several hundred acres of open land.
   ▪ agricultural land The factory is causing severe pollution to nearby agricultural land.
   ▪ arable land (=land that crops are grown on) Some pastures were converted into arable land.
   ▪ industrial land (=land where factories can be built and industry take place) The canal basin area is designated as industrial land.
   ▪ housing/building land British English (=land where houses can be built) The shortage of housing land is a problem in the south-east.
■ COMMON ERRORS
    ► Do not say 'a large land' or 'a small land'. Say a large piece of land or a small piece of land.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ land an area that is owned by someone or that can be used for farming or building houses: This is private land. | They moved to the country and bought some land.
   ▪ farmland land that is used for farming: The area is one of gently rolling hills and farmland.
   ▪ territory land that belongs to a country or that is controlled by a country during a war: His plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Chinese territory. | The army was advancing into enemy territory.
   ▪ the grounds the gardens and land around a big building such as a castle, school, or hospital: The grounds of the castle are open to visitors every weekend. | the school grounds
   ▪ estate a large area of land in the country, usually with one large house on it and one owner: The film is set on an English country estate.

II

land² S2 W3 verb
1.  PLANE/BIRD/INSECT
  a. [intransitive] if a plane, bird, or insect lands, it moves safely down onto the ground
   OPP  take off:
    Flight 846 landed five minutes ago.
    The bird landed gracefully on the water.
  b. [transitive] to make a plane move safely down onto the ground at the end of a journey:
    The pilot managed to land the aircraft safely.
2.  ARRIVE BY BOAT/PLANE  [intransitive] to arrive somewhere in a plane, boat etc
    land on/in/at etc
    We expect to be landing in Oslo in about fifty minutes.
    In 1969, the first men landed on the Moon.
3.  FALL/COME DOWN  [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to come down through the air onto something
   SYN  drop
    land in/on/under etc
    A large branch landed on the hood of my car.
    Louis fell out of the tree and landed in a holly bush.
    She fell and landed heavily on the floor.
    A couple of bombs landed quite near to the village.
4.  GOODS/PEOPLE  [transitive] if a boat or aircraft lands people or goods, it brings them to a place, and the people get out or the goods are carried out:
    The troops were landed by helicopter.
5.  JOB/CONTRACT ETC  [transitive] informal to succeed in getting a job, contract etc that was difficult to get:
    He landed a job with a law firm.
    land yourself something
    Bill’s just landed himself a part in a Broadway show.
6. land somebody in trouble/hospital/court etc to cause someone to have serious problems or be in a difficult situation:
    Connie’s going to land herself in big trouble if she keeps arriving late for work.
    She developed pneumonia which landed her in hospital.
7. land somebody in it British English spoken informal to get someone into trouble by telling other people that they did something wrong
   SYN  drop somebody in it:
    Geoff landed me in it by saying I should have checked that the door was locked.
8.  PROBLEMS  [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to arrive unexpectedly, and cause problems
    land in/on/under etc
    Just when I thought my problems were over, this letter landed on my desk.
9. land a punch/blow etc to succeed in hitting someone
10. land on your feet to get into a good situation again, after having problems:
    She certainly landed on her feet when she got that job.
11.  CATCH FISH  [transitive] to catch a fish
     
land up phrasal verb British English informal
  to be in a particular place, situation, or position after a lot of things have happened to you
   SYN  end up
    land up in
    We landed up in a bar at 3 am.
    Be careful that you don’t land up in serious debt.
    land up with
    I landed up with five broken ribs.
land somebody with something phrasal verb [usually passive] informal
  to give someone something unpleasant to do, because no one else wants to do it:
    Maria’s been landed with all the tidying up as usual.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ arrive to get to the place you are going to: I arrived at the party at around 7 o'clock. | They were due to arrive home from Spain yesterday.
   ▪ get to arrive somewhere. Get is much more common in everyday English than arrive: What time do you usually get to work? | I’ll call you when I get home.
   ▪ reach to arrive somewhere, especially after a long journey: When we finally reached the port, we were all very tired.
   ▪ come if someone comes, they arrive at the place where you are: She came home yesterday. | What time did the plumber say he’d come?
   ▪ turn up (also show up) informal to arrive somewhere, especially when someone is waiting for you: I’d arranged to meet Tom, but he never turned up.
   ▪ roll in informal to arrive somewhere later than you should and not seem worried about it: Rebecca usually rolls in around noon.
   ▪ get in to arrive somewhere – used especially about people arriving home, or a plane, train etc arriving at an airport, station etc: I usually get in at around 6 o'clock. | What time did your plane get in?
   ▪ come in if a plane, train, or ship comes in, it arrives in the place where you are: We liked to watch the cruise ships come in.
   ▪ land if a plane or the passengers on it land, they arrive on the ground: We finally landed at 2 a.m. | They watched the planes taking off and landing.

Land
Land, Ed‧win Her‧bert /ˈedwən ˈhɜːbət, ˈedwɪn ˈhɜːbət $ -ˈhɜːrbərt/
(1909–91) a US scientist who invented Polaroid (=a special substance that is put on glass to make the sun seem less bright), which is used on sunglasses and car windows. He also invented the Polaroid camera, which uses a special film to produce photographs as soon as they have been taken.