public land

noun

: land owned by a government

specifically : that part of the U.S. public domain subject to sale or disposal under the homestead laws

Examples of public land in a Sentence

the management of public lands

The government will auction off 20 parcels of public land.

Recent Examples on the Web

In some parts of the country, dangerous sinkholes are opening as aging, abandoned mine infrastructure erodes beneath communities, roads and public lands. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026

Travis Meier is a portage runner who carries canoes to raise awareness for Minnesota's public lands. — CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

The former Bloomington, Illinois, rodeo rider spends much of his retirement leading the Illinois chapter of the Back Country Horsemen of America, a national organization of horse-riding volunteers who help maintain trails and public lands. — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

McOsker stressed that the port is on public land and another space that residents should have greater insight into by offering transparency into how leaseholder agreements affect the local economy. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for public land

• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland
• motherland

Legal Definition

public land

noun

: land owned by a government