no-man's-land

noun

ˈnō-ˌmanz-ˌland How to pronounce no-man's-land (audio)
Definition of no-man's-landnext
as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops the city's decayed industrial quarter is a no-man's-land of abandoned factories and weedy vacant lots

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of no-man's-land Today, guerrillas, drug smugglers, poachers, and jaguars rule this vast no-man's-land. — David Ewing Duncan, Outside Online, 17 May 2022 When this happens, their planet goes back and forth between being a searing, endless stretch of desert or frozen no-man's-land. — Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024 Abandoned by King Hassan II for its association with the Rif mountain revolts after Moroccan independence, in 1956, Tangier became a dilapidated drive-through, a no-man's-land for another 50 years. — Stephanie Rafanelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for no-man's-land
desert
Noun
  • Back then, Canty was building gas plants in the West Texas desert, living in a single-bedroom apartment — or bouncing between friends’ guest bedrooms — and waking up before dawn to face another shift of hard labor.
    — Bill Forman, Daily News, 7 July 2026
  • Suiting up in the desert is the first step for Steinbach and Anderson to leave their impressions on the staff in game action.
    — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026
Definition of desert

Browse Nearby Words

nomads
no-man's-land
no-man's-lands
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“No-man's-land.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/no-man%27s-land. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All