/hin"teuhr land'/ , n.
1. Often, hinterlands . the remote or less developed parts of a country; back country: The hinterlands are usually much more picturesque than the urban areas.
2. the land lying behind a coastal region.
3. an area or sphere of influence in the unoccupied interior claimed by the state possessing the coast.
4. an inland area supplying goods, esp. trade goods, to a port.
[ 1885-90; ]