no man's land

noun

1. an area between opposing armies, over which no control has been established.
2. an unowned or unclaimed tract of usually barren land.
3. an indefinite or ambiguous area where guidelines and authority are not clear:

   a no man's land between acceptance and rejection.

4. (in tennis, handball, etc.) the area of a court in which a player is at a tactical disadvantage, as the area of a tennis court about midway between the net and the base line.

no-man's-land

noun

1. land between boundaries, esp an unoccupied zone between opposing forces
2. an unowned or unclaimed piece of land
3. an ambiguous area of activity or thought

Word History and Origins

Origin of no man's land¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

Nor does his novel elaborate on the horrific effect the greatest natural disaster in the United States had on the people who were living in “No Man’s Land.”

From Salon

A small group of protesters broke through a metal security fence outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday and engaged in a short confrontation with police after entering a no man’s land area behind another layer of fencing surrounding the United Center.

From Los Angeles Times

Waters accurately described the effect of FIT21 as placing crypto effectively into a regulatory “no man’s land.”

From Los Angeles Times

Several shop owners used the same term for the feeling of it: “no man’s land.”

From Seattle Times

“A lot of schools are going to be in no man’s land.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• back country
• desert
• forest
• jungle
• outback
• wasteland