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landward

American  
[land-werd] / ˈlænd wərd /

adverb

  1. Also landwards. toward the land or interior.


adjective

  1. lying, facing, or tending toward the land or away from the coast.

  2. being in the direction of the land.

    a landward breeze.

landward British  
/ ˈlændwəd /

adjective

  1. lying, facing, or moving towards land

  2. in the direction of the land

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. a variant of landwards

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of landward

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; land, -ward

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Well before the visible effects of surface flooding, sea-level rise pushes up the water table and shifts salty water landward.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2024

A push from the sea side – whether it’s sea-level rise, storm surge or high tides – moves the balance point landward.

From Scientific American • Oct. 13, 2023

Warming oceans also lead to increased precipitation as more moisture-saturated air moves landward.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2023

To prevent their erosion, these marshes could be established on the landward side of an existing dike by building a second dike farther back.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 29, 2020

Perhaps food had appeared where at the last incursion there had been none; bird droppings, insects perhaps, any of the strewn detritus of landward life.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding