— landlike , adj.
/land/ , n.
1. any part of the earth's surface not covered by a body of water; the part of the earth's surface occupied by continents and islands: Land was sighted from the crow's nest.
2. an area of ground with reference to its nature or composition: arable land.
3. an area of ground with specific boundaries: to buy land on which to build a house.
4. rural or farming areas, as contrasted with urban areas: They left the land for the city.
5. Law.
a. any part of the earth's surface that can be owned as property, and everything annexed to it, whether by nature or by the human hand.
b. any legal interest held in land.
6. Econ. natural resources as a factor of production.
7. a part of the surface of the earth marked off by natural or political boundaries or the like; a region or country: They came from many lands.
8. the people of a region or country
9. Audio. the flat surface between the grooves of a phonograph record.
10. a realm or domain: the land of the living.
11. a surface between furrows, as on a millstone or on the interior of a rifle barrel.
12. Scot. a tenement house.
13. see how the land lies , to investigate in advance; inform oneself of the facts of a situation before acting: You should see how the land lies before making a formal proposal. Cf. lay of the land .
v.t.
14. to bring to or set on land: to land passengers or goods from a ship; to land an airplane.
15. to bring into or cause to arrive in a particular place, position, or condition: His behavior will land him in jail.
16. Informal. to catch or capture; gain; win: to land a job.
17. Angling. to bring (a fish) to land, or into a boat, etc., as with a hook or a net.
v.i.
18. to come to land or shore: The boat lands at Cherbourg.
19. to go or come ashore from a ship or boat.
20. to alight upon a surface, as the ground, a body of water, or the like: to land on both feet.
21. to hit or strike the ground, as from a height: The ball landed at the far side of the court.
22. to strike and come to rest on a surface or in something: The golf ball landed in the lake.
23. to come to rest or arrive in a particular place, position, or condition (sometimes fol. by up ): to land in trouble; to land up 40 miles from home.
24. land on , Informal. to reprimand; criticize: His mother landed on him for coming home so late.
25. land on one's feet . See foot (def. 27).
[ bef. 900; ME (n. and v.), OE (n.); c. D, G, ON, Goth land; akin to Ir lann, Welsh llan church (orig. enclosure), Breton lann heath. See LAWN 1 ]