landing

landing — noun

1. The act of an aircraft, helicopter, or spaceship coming down onto a runway, land

1.nounB1
Definition

The act of an aircraft, helicopter, or spaceship coming down onto a runway, landing pad, or another solid surface after a journey through the air.

Example

The captain announced their landing in ten minutes, so Soraya put her tray table up.

countable noun for a specific arrival event

Fog delayed the helicopter's landing on the hospital roof.

Common collocations
  • smooth landing
  • safe landing
  • emergency landing
  • forced landing
  • crash landing
  • hard landing
  • landing gear
  • landing strip
  • landing site
Synonyms
  • touchdown

    more technical; used for spacecraft and the exact moment wheels contact the runway

  • arrival

    broader meaning; can refer to reaching any destination, not just the ground

  • descent

    describes the downward movement before the landing, not the moment of reaching ground

Antonyms
  • takeoff

    the action of leaving the ground to begin a flight

Grammar Patterns

countable noun

uncountable noun

Usage Note

Frequently used with adjectives describing the quality of the arrival: 'smooth landing', 'safe landing', 'emergency landing', 'forced landing'. Rarely used as an uncountable noun outside technical contexts.

Common Mistakes

The landing of the plane was in the water (sounds unnatural).
The plane made an emergency landing in the water.
'make + a/an + adjective + landing' is the standard structure for aircraft.

2. The manner in which someone or something strikes a surface after falling, jumpin

2.nounB1
Definition

The manner in which someone or something strikes a surface after falling, jumping, or being dropped from a higher point.

Example

Yasmin twisted her ankle on the hard landing after jumping off the wall.

hard landing / soft landing — opposite adjectives for impact force

The cat's soft landing surprised everyone when it fell from the tree.

Common collocations
  • hard landing
  • soft landing
  • gentle landing
  • clumsy landing
  • on landing
Synonyms
  • impact

    focuses on the collision itself rather than the whole action of reaching the ground

  • touchdown

    more technical; often used for objects or robots landing on a surface

Antonyms
  • jump

    the upward or forward action that precedes a landing

Grammar Patterns

countable noun

usually singular

Usage Note

Object modified by adjectives describing impact force: 'hard landing', 'soft landing', 'clumsy landing', 'gentle landing'. Distinct from sense 1 (aircraft) and sense 3 (sports technique).

Common Mistakes

I hurt my landing from the tree.
I hurt myself on landing after falling from the tree.
'on landing' (not 'my landing') is the correct phrase when describing the impact moment.

3. The controlled technique with which an athlete brings their feet to a surface at

3.nounB2
Definition

The controlled technique with which an athlete brings their feet to a surface at the end of a jump, somersault, or other sporting move.

Example

The gymnast's perfect landing earned her the highest score of the competition.

perfect landing — high-frequency sports collocation

Emre hurt his knee with a bad landing after the basketball dunk.

Common collocations
  • perfect landing
  • clean landing
  • bad landing
  • stuck landing
  • two-footed landing
  • one-footed landing
  • bend the knees
  • landing technique
Synonyms
  • dismount

    specific to gymnastics and apparatus events where the athlete leaves the equipment

  • touchdown

    used in snowboarding and surfing for completing a trick or drop

  • reception

    formal term in gymnastics judging for the quality of the landing

Antonyms
  • takeoff

    the initial push or jump that begins the movement

Grammar Patterns

countable noun

usually singular

Usage Note

Specific to sports and performance contexts — gymnastics, long jump, figure skating, basketball, parkour. Not used for ordinary falls (sense 2). The landing is judged on technique, stability, and control.

Common Mistakes

He did a bad landing after the jump.
He made a bad landing after the jump.
the verb 'make' (not 'do') is the correct collocation with 'landing' in sports contexts.

4. A flat section of flooring situated where a staircase changes direction or finis

4.nounB1
Definition

A flat section of flooring situated where a staircase changes direction or finishes, connecting different levels or rooms.

Example

Tyler left his school bag on the landing between the first and second floors.

on the landing — fixed prepositional phrase for location

A large mirror hung above the staircase landing.

Common collocations
  • on the landing
  • top landing
  • bottom landing
  • half landing
  • wide landing
  • narrow landing
  • staircase landing
  • landing window
Synonyms
  • stairhead

    less common; refers specifically to the top of a staircase

  • platform

    more general; can refer to any raised flat surface, not just in stairs

  • half-landing

    a landing between two flights of stairs where the stairs change direction

Grammar Patterns

countable noun

Usage Note

Preposition typically 'on' (not 'at' or 'in'). A landing is a flat area — it is not a step, not a hallway, and not the stairs themselves. Common in house descriptions and real estate contexts.

Common Mistakes

I left my bag on the landing step.
I left my bag on the landing.
a landing is the flat area itself, not a step.

Word family

  • land
    verbA2
  • land
    nounA2
  • lander
    nounC1
  • landowner
    nounB2
  • landlocked
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Landing specifically refers to the controlled action of an aircraft or spacecraft reaching the ground after flight — it is the complete event from just above the surface to a stop. Touchdown is a narrower, more technical term for the exact moment the wheels or landing gear contact the runway or surface; you would use 'touchdown' for a Mars rover landing but not for a routine passenger flight. Arrival is much broader and can refer to reaching any destination by any means of transport, including cars and trains, so it lacks the aerial specificity of landing. Descent describes only the downward phase before the landing actually occurs. For example: 'The plane began its descent over the ocean, and the landing at the airport felt perfectly smooth.' 'The spacecraft's touchdown on the lunar surface was confirmed by mission control.'

landing ↗touchdown ↗arrival ↗descent ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • landing gear
  • landing strip
  • landing site
  • landing page

Phrases

  • make a landing
  • a smooth landing
  • a safe landing

Prepositions

  • on landing

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The noun 'landing' comes from the verb 'land', which traces back to Old English 'landian', meaning 'to go to or arrive on shore'. For centuries it was used mainly for ships reaching port. In the 1600s the noun form emerged for the action of coming ashore. With the invention of aviation in the early 1900s, 'landing' shifted to describe aircraft returning to the ground. The sense for a staircase platform developed from the idea of reaching a resting point or 'land' between flights of stairs.