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landlocked
LAN /læn/ n abbrev. for local area network; a system connecting computer TERMINALS in a building
Lan-ca-shire /'læŋkəʃə/, written abbrev. Lancs. a COUNTY in northwest England, which was once the centre of the cotton industry in the UK and had many factories that produced cloth. The large cities of Liverpool and Manchester were formerly part of Lancashire, but now form their own local government areas. Traditionally, there has always been a lot of RIVALRY (=competition or fighting) between Lancashire and the nearby county of Yorkshire. → see also WARS OF THE ROSES
Lan-cas-ter, Burt /'læŋkəstə || -kæs-, bɜːt || bɜːrt/ (1913–94) a US film actor who often appeared as strong brave characters, and whose films include From Here to Eternity (1953), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1956), and Atlantic City (1980)
lance¹ /lɑːns || læns/ n a long spearlike weapon used by soldiers on horseback in former times
lance² v [T] to cut (flesh) open with a medical instrument, especially to let infected material out: That boil will have to be lanced.
lance 'corporal n a military rank → see TABLE 3
Lan-ce-lot, Sir /'lɑːnsəlɒt || 'lænsəlɑːt/ the most famous of King Arthur's KNIGHTS in old stories. Lancelot has a romantic relationship with Arthur's wife, Guinevere, and is the father of Sir GALAHAD. → see also ARTHURIAN LEGEND
lanc-er /'lɑːnsə || 'læn-/ n a soldier in a REGIMENT (=a military group) (formerly) armed with lances
lan-cet /'lɑːnsɪt || 'læn-/ n a small very sharp pointed knife with two cutting edges, used by a doctor to cut flesh
Lancet, the a British magazine for doctors and other people in the medical profession, produced by the British Medical Association. The Lancet provides reports on recent developments, new drugs, and medical treatments etc. → see also JAMA, NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
Lancs. written abbrev. for LANCASHIRE
land¹ /lænd/ n 1 [U] the solid dry part of the Earth's surface: After working at sea for several years, I got a job on land. | We finally sighted land/ made land (=reached the shore) after a voyage of two weeks. | land-based nuclear weapons → see also DRY LAND 2 [U] also lands pl. — (usually in comb.) a part of the Earth's surface all of the same (stated) natural type: the heathlands of Northern Germany → see also HIGHLAND, LOWLAND, WOODLAND 3 [C] especially lit a country; nation: People came from many lands to take part. | England is my native land. (=I was born there) | (fig.) the land of the dead → CLOUD-CUCKOO-LAND, DREAMLAND, land of milk and honey (MILK) 4 [U] also lands pl. — ground owned as property: You are on my land. | Land prices have risen quickly. | The Duke's lands stretch for many miles in all directions. 5 [U] ground used for farming: This is excellent land for wheat. | He works (on) the land. (=is a farmer) 6 [the] life in the country as opposed to life in towns and cities: People who live in towns often dream of getting back to the land. 7 see/find out how the land lies to try to discover the present state of affairs before taking action 8 land of the living humor a state of being awake, especially after being asleep or ill: Is John back in the land of the living yet?
1 The surface of the world, when compared with the sea, is called the land but when compared with the sky or space it is called earth or the Earth: After a week at sea, the sailors saw land. | After a week in space, the spacecraft returned to earth. 2 An area considered as property is a piece of land: the high price of land in London. The substance in which plants grow is the soil or earth: a tub filled with soil/earth or (when we think of it as having an area) ground: a small piece of ground where I could plant a few potatoes. But when we are talking about large areas used for farming, we say land: There is good land here for growing corn. The surface we walk on is called the ground but when this is inside a building it is the floor: The horse fell to the ground. | The plate fell to the floor.
land² v 1 [I;T] to come or bring down from the air onto a surface, especially of the Earth or water: The plane landed only five minutes late. | We landed at Dubai for refuelling. | A drop of rain landed on my head. | The pilot landed the plane very skilfully in difficult conditions. 2 [T] to bring to or put on land from water or from the air: The ship landed the goods at Dover. | The troops were landed by helicopter. 3 [T] to catch (a fish): (fig.) She landed (=succeeded in getting) the top job in the record company. 4 [T+obj(i)+obj(d)] infml to hit: I landed him a punch on the nose. 5 land/drop someone in it BrE spoken to cause someone to have problems, especially by saying something that makes people get angry with them: I'm sorry if I dropped you in it. | I reckon the company have landed themselves in it by ignoring these complaints. → see also land on one's feet (FOOT)
land up phr v [I+adv/prep] to reach the stated (often undesirable) state or position at the end of a course of action or events: After years of bad management the company landed up in serious debt. | [+] We landed up wandering around with nowhere to stay. → see also END UP
land sbdy. with sthg. phr v [T] infml to give (someone) (something unwanted): I've been landed with the job of organizing the Christmas party.
Land, Ed-win Her-bert /'edwɪn 'hɜːbət || -'hɜːrbərt/ (1909–91) a US scientist who invented POLAROID (=a special substance that is put on glass to make the sun seem less bright), which is used on SUNGLASSES and car windows. He also invented the Polaroid camera, which uses a special film to produce photographs as soon as they have been taken.
'land agent n especially BrE someone who looks after the land, cattle, farms etc belonging to someone else
lan-dau /'lændɔː || -dɑː/ n a four-wheeled horsedrawn carriage with two seats and a top that folds back in two parts, used especially in former times
'land-based adj placed on or living on the land: land-based missiles | land-based animals
land-ed /'lændɪd/ adj [A] 1 owning large amounts of land: the landed gentry 2 tech made up of land: landed property
Lan-ders, Ann /'lændəz || -ərz, æn/ (1918–2002) a well-known US AGONY AUNT whose newspaper COLUMN used to appear daily in hundreds of US newspapers
land-fall /'lændfɔːl/ n the first sight of land or arrival on land after a journey by sea or air; used especially when the journey has taken a long time or is over a long distance: We made landfall on the 84th day.
land-fill /'lændfɪl/ n 1 [C;U] (an example of) the act of burying waste under the soil 2 [U] waste buried in this way: a landfill site (=place where this waste is buried)
land-girl /'lændgɜːl || -gɜːrl/ n a member of the Women's Land Army in Britain during the World War II. Landgirls worked on farms to replace men who were away fighting in the war.
land-ing /'lændɪŋ/ n 1 the level space at the top of a set of stairs or between two sets of stairs 2 an act of arriving or bringing something to land: an emergency landing/crash landing
'landing craft n a flat-bottomed boat that opens at one end, used for landing soldiers and army vehicles directly on the shore
'landing field n a LANDING STRIP
'landing gear n [U] an aircraft's wheels and wheel supports → see picture at AIRCRAFT
'landing net n a net on a long handle used for lifting a caught fish out of the water
'landing stage n a level surface, floating in or supported over the water, onto which passengers and goods are landed
'landing strip also landing field n a stretch of prepared ground for aircraft to take off from and land on. A landing strip is used in country areas where there is no proper airport, and is sometimes just a flat field.
land-la-dy /'lænd,leɪdi/ n 1 a woman who owns and runs a BOARDING HOUSE (=a small hotel): Seaside landladies are often thought of as fearsome or eccentric. 2 a woman from whom someone rents a room, a building, land etc: My landlady keeps complaining about the noise. 3 a woman who owns or is in charge of a PUB → compare LANDLORD and see Feature on page A24
land-locked /'lændlɒkt || -lɑːkt/ adj enclosed or almost enclosed by land: Switzerland is a landlocked country.