mainland

¹

[ meyn-land, -luhnd ]

noun

1. the principal land of a country, region, etc., as distinguished from adjacent islands or a peninsula:

   the mainland of Greece.

2. any part of or all of the continental United States or conterminous United States, especially from the perspective of someone in a geographically detached U.S. state or territory, such as Hawaii or Guam:

   I’m not sure where on the mainland Jasmine went to college, but it may have been Milwaukee.

Mainland

²

[ meyn-land, -luhnd ]

noun

1. the largest of the Shetland Islands. About 200 sq. mi. (520 sq. km).
2. Pomona ( def 3 ).

mainland

¹

/ ˈmeɪnlənd /

noun

1. the main part of a land mass as opposed to an island or peninsula
2. the mainland
   a particular landmass as viewed from a nearby island with which it has close links, such as Great Britain as viewed from Northern Ireland or continental Australia as viewed from Tasmania

Mainland

²

/ ˈmeɪnlənd /

noun

1. an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Shetland Islands. Chief town: Lerwick. Pop: 17 550 (2001). Area: about 583 sq km (225 sq miles)
2. Also calledPomona an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Orkney Islands. Chief town: Kirkwall. Pop: 15 315 (2001). Area: 492 sq km (190 sq miles)
3. the Mainland
   a South Islanders' name for South Island

Derived Forms

• ˈmainlander, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mainland¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; main ¹, land

Example Sentences

There is even a cruise line offering four-year trips to people looking to avoid a second Trump term on the mainland.

From Salon

And I think that even though we had this section that’s incredibly chaotic and dark, but also really fun with the stuff that I was getting to do performance-wise, to then sort of gradually let go of that throughout the shoot when we went to Orkney mainland after the London section, that was sort of this period where you’re just plodding along and it felt like myself and the crew mirrored that.

From Los Angeles Times

In 2019, Hong Kong erupted in months-long protests as hundreds of thousands marched against a hugely controversial extradition bill that would allow Hongkongers to be sent to mainland China to face trial.

From BBC

The morning after the ceremony, as they waved off guests who were returning to the mainland, the crew saluted the newlyweds with a toot of the horn.

From BBC

Tasmania currently lies about 240 kilometres off the southeast Australian coast, separated from the Australian mainland by the Bass Strait.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• continent