noun ˈmeɪnlandˈmeɪnlənd
A large continuous extent of land that includes the greater part of a country or territory, as opposed to offshore islands and detached territories.
as modifier the growing important of mainland China
Example sentencesExamples
- Subsoils on the mainland tend to be limestone, while on the islands they are mainly volcanic.
- A decade ago, private art collectors on the mainland were virtually unheard of.
- It concerns a small community who hear that a film production is to take place on the mainland.
- For the same reasons sanctuaries were sited at the tip of capes or peninsulas or on an island close to the mainland.
- The bridge basically connects the island of Seil to the mainland and the Atlantic flows all around.
- In the 1950s bridges began to be built from the mainland to the outlying sea islands.
- Thirty of the islands are connected to the mainland by a series of bridges and an overseas highway.
- The geological fault lines underlying the eruptions stretch to the Italian mainland.
- Ironically, it was these ports on the Spanish mainland that needed reform if Spain was to benefit.
- It seemed the wind was so strong the island would be blown crashing into the shores of the mainland.
- Chiang had been forced to abandon the mainland and retreat to the island of Taiwan in 1949.
- The impossibly pretty town is mostly on an island on Lake Constance but spills over onto the mainland.
- Taiwanese law requires any local chip company investing in a venture on the mainland to declare the fact.
- Although it is close to the mainland, it used to be cut off for weeks at a time during stormy weather.
- Skye is undeniably spectacular, but the island is now connected to the mainland by a bridge.
- The island, which was once attached to the mainland, is reached by a short ferry ride.
- The painted storks from Siberia and Algeria fly across the seas and mainlands for about 6,000 km to reach Veerapuram.
- And then the same salmon may return to the islands after processing on the mainland.
- This was a deeply formative experience, dividing the fate of the island from the mainland.
- Today we tend to see islands as backward places in comparison to the mainland.
Derivatives
noun ˈmeɪnləndə
Many Puerto Rican mainlanders hold high-paying white collar jobs.
Example sentencesExamples
- The rise in retail activity was based on an increase from both the influx of mainlanders as well as domestic spending.
- Newly affluent mainlanders are snapping up everything from Philippine pineapples to Japanese sedans.
- Hakka make up approximately 1.7 percent, while mainlanders make up about 15 percent of Taiwan's population.
- Of Taiwan's population, 18 million are native Taiwanese, while 4 million are ethnic mainlanders.
proper nounˈmeɪnlənd-ˌland
1The largest island in Orkney.
2The largest island in Shetland.