inland

/ˈɪnlɪnd/

/ˈɪnlənd/

Other forms: inlander; inlands

Inland means far away from the ocean, or in the very middle of a country. If you were born and grew up in Kansas, you're familiar with inland living.

The opposite of inland is coastal. When you travel to the rocky coast of Maine or the soft sandy beaches of Florida, you're far from being inland — you return to your inland home town when you fly back to Gary, Indiana. Inland comes from the Old English inn lond, "land around the mansion of an estate," and it began to mean "land far from the coast" in the 16th century.

Definitions of inland

1. adjective

   situated away from an area's coast or border
   synonyms:

   interior, midland, upcountry

   of or coming from the middle of a region or country

   landlocked

   surrounded entirely or almost entirely by land

   antonyms:

   coastal

   located on or near or bordering on a coast

   coastwise

   along or following a coast

   inshore

   close to a shore

   maritime

   bordering on or living or characteristic of those near the sea

   seaward

   directed or situated away from inland regions and toward the sea or coast
2. adverb

   towards or into the interior of a region
   “the town is five miles inland”