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

They met in no-mans-land and spent the day swapping small gifts and playing soccer.

From The Daily Beast

The forces of the Northern army advanced into the vast no-mans land by the roads leading from the fords.

From Project Gutenberg

Stretching away to the westward between Grants army and Lees lay no-mans-land—the Wilderness.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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