landslide

[land-slahyd]

noun

1. the downward falling or sliding of a mass of soil, detritus, or rock on or from a steep slope.

2. the mass itself.

3. an election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes.

   the 1936 landslide for Roosevelt.

4. any overwhelming victory.

   She won the contest by a landslide.

verb (used without object)

landslid, landslid, landslidden, landsliding. 

1. to come down in or as in a landslide.

2. to win an election by an overwhelming majority.

landslide

/ ˈlændˌslaɪd /

noun

1. Also called: landslip. 

   1. the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff

   2. the material dislodged in this way

2. 1. an overwhelming electoral victory

   2. ( as modifier )

      a landslide win

landslide

1. The rapid downward sliding of a mass of earth and rock. Landslides usually move over a confined area. Many kinds of events can trigger a landslide, such as the oversteepening of slopes by erosion associated with rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves; heavy snowmelt which saturates soil and rock; or earthquakes that lead to the failure of weak slopes.

2. The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.

Word History and Origins

Origin of landslide¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; land + slide

Example Sentences

Save the Children staff described scenes of "destruction and devastation" after the landslide caused by heavy rainfall.

From BBC

He was Scotland's only remaining Labour MP in 2015 after Labour lost 40 of its 41 seats in an SNP general election landslide.

From BBC

Aid workers on donkeys have delivered the first humanitarian supplies to survivors of a landslide that reportedly killed hundreds of people in a remote mountain village in Sudan's western Darfur region.

From BBC

She entered high office in the wake of a landslide election victory.

From BBC

A second earthquake of magnitude 5.5 on Tuesday temporarily halted rescue operations, which have mostly been conducted by helicopters as debris from landslides cuts off access to remote villages.

From BBC

Related Words

• avalanche 
• mudslide