Meaning & use
overland
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Meanings
adverb
By land, rather than by sea or air.
Grammar: Comes after a verb of movement: travel overland, go overland.
Patterns
- travel overland
- go overland
They traveled overland from Cairo to Cape Town.
It is cheaper to go overland than to fly.
We crossed the country overland in an old van.
adjectivebefore a noun
Going or carried out by land, not by sea or air.
Grammar: Used before a noun: overland route, overland journey.
Patterns
- overland route
- overland journey
- overland trip
The overland route through the mountains is beautiful but slow.
They took an overland journey across the desert.
The overland trade carried silk and spices to Europe.
verbintransitiverare
To travel across land, especially in an adventurous way.
Grammar: No object; often used in travel writing: They overlanded through Asia.
Patterns
- overland through a place
- overland across a place
They overlanded through Central Asia for six months.
Some travelers overland across Africa in trucks.
He overlanded from Kenya to Egypt.
Word forms
| third person singular | overlands |
|---|---|
| past tense | overlanded |
| past participle | overlanded |
| -ing form | overlanding |
Common combinations
- travel overland
- We decided to travel overland to save money.
- overland route
- The overland route was closed by heavy snow.
- overland journey
- Their overland journey took three weeks.
- go overland
- You can go overland from Spain to Morocco.
Synonyms and how they differ
- by land
- A simple phrase with the same meaning; 'overland' sounds more like a single journey or route.
- on the ground
- Can mean traveling by land, but it is much vaguer and often means 'in a place' rather than 'by land'.
Opposites
Word family
- overlanding noun
- The activity of traveling by land, often in a vehicle.
Commonly confused: overland or overlord?
overland vs overlord
Sounds a little similar but means a ruler with great power; it has nothing to do with travel.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'overland' correctly.
Choose one answer.
B is correct because 'overland' means 'by land' and follows a verb of movement. An is wrong because 'overland' contrasts with flying. C uses it as a noun, which it is not, and D uses it as a verb with an object, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overland”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.