land

▪ I. land land ¹ [lænd] noun [uncountable]

1. PROPERTY FARMING ground, especially ground used for building or farming on:

• Land has always been a good investment.

ˌarable ˈland FARMING

land that is used for growing crops:

• Because of China's limited arable land, food production on the nation's farms isn't increasing as fast as the country's population.

deˌveloped ˈland PROPERTY

land that houses etc have been built on or land used for industrial purposes:

• They urged the government to raise the amount of new housing on previously developed land.

deˈvelopment ˌland PROPERTY

land where permission has been given for building or industrial activities:

• The new road will open up development land for port operations.

ˈfarm land FARMING

land used for farming:

• The county's farm land has gone to development at a rate of about 7,000 acres a year.

ˌmarginal ˈland FARMING

land where it is only just possible to farm, for example land that is high up or next to a desert:

• Newly cultivated areas will be on marginal land, often on steep slopes.

ˌprime ˈland FARMING PROPERTY

land of the best quality for farming or building on:

• Over 400 hectares of prime land went up for auction.

ˌraw ˈland PROPERTY

land that has never been built on and where no work has been done to prepare for building:

• Our priority is to improve raw land so Hawaiians can build homes on it.

reˌclaimed ˈland PROPERTY

land that was previously under the sea, or that was unusable, made suitable for building:

• Hong Kong International Airport was built on reclaimed land off Lantau Island.

ˌundeveloped ˈland PROPERTY

land that has not been built on or used for industrial purposes:

• Irvine's holdings include undeveloped land, industrial parks, retail centers and apartment units.

ˌvacant ˈland PROPERTY

land where no one is living or that is not being used:

• To the north is a mile-long stretch of vacant land on which factories once stood.

2. FARMING the land ground in the country used for growing food, animals etc:

• Many farmers have given up working the land because of low rates of return.

3. also lands an area of land that a person or organization owns:

• He exploited the mineral resources which he found under his lands.

ˌfederal ˈland also federal lands

the name for land belonging to the central government of some countries, for example the US:

• privatization of federal lands

ˌprivate ˈland also private lands

land not owned by the government:

• As the spring is on private land he had to obtain the permission of the owner to visit it.

ˌpublic ˈland also public lands

land belonging to the local or central government:

• Environmental laws like the Clean Water Act were created to protect our rights and our public lands.

  [m0] ▪ II. land land ² verb

1. [intransitive, transitive] if a plane lands, or if a pilot lands it, it moves down on to the ground in a controlled way

2. [transitive] TRANSPORT to put someone or something on land from an aircraft or boat:

• He landed his load of illegal immigrants on the Kent coast at midnight.

3. [transitive] informal if you land a job or a contract, you manage to get it:

• It has just landed a big contract to install a defense communications system.

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Ⅰ.

land UK US /lænd/ noun [U]

► the surface of the Earth that is not covered by water: on land »

It is cheaper to drill for oil on land than at sea.

by land »

The code gives the minimum standards of welfare required for the transport of animals by land.

► PROPERTY an area of ground, especially when used for a particular purpose such as farming or building: »

The agent controls land with the potential for 22,850 new homes, 5,650 of which already have planning permission.

► (also lands [plural]) PROPERTY the land owned by a person or organization: »

It was understood that federal lands would be given to the oil and gas industry.

● the land — Cf. the land

→ See also ARABLE(Cf. ↑arable), DEVELOPMENT LAND(Cf. ↑development land), FARM(Cf. ↑farm) noun, FEDERAL LAND(Cf. ↑federal land), MARGINAL LAND(Cf. ↑marginal land), PRIME LAND(Cf. ↑prime land), PRIVATE LAND(Cf. ↑private land), PUBLIC LAND(Cf. ↑public land), RAW LAND(Cf. ↑raw land), RECLAIMED LAND(Cf. ↑reclaimed land), VACANT LAND(Cf. ↑vacant land)

Ⅱ.

land UK US /lænd/ verb

► [I or T] TRANSPORT when a plane lands or someone lands it, it comes down from the sky to the ground: »

We shall be landing at Paris, Charles de Gaulle, in approximately ten minutes.

► [I] TRANSPORT when a boat lands, it arrives at a port, etc. next to the land: »

The ferry will land at the International Ferry Terminal.

► [T] TRANSPORT to take goods or people off a ship or aircraft: »

After some delay the customs officer finally gave them permission to land the goods.

► [I] to arrive somewhere: »

The report landed on my desk yesterday morning.

► [T] INFORMAL to get or achieve something good, for example a job: »

In the past six months they have and landed some high-profile contracts.