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no man's land

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no man's land¹

  • /ˈnoʊˌmænzˌlænd/ US
  • /ˈnəʊˌmænzˌlænd/ UK

Where it comes from

Originally from Middle English Nomanneslond (“an area of land outside of London utilised for executions; a swath of unowned or undesirable land; land that is subject to legal dispute”), which is first attested c. 1350 and equivalent to no man (“no one, nobody”) + -'s + land.

Revived with new senses in a short story in Blackwood's Magazine in 1908 by the British Army officer Ernest Swinton (1868–1951), writing as "Ole Luk-Oie" (see the quotation), but only came into common use in the context of the Anglo-German Christmas truce of 1914, and thereafter appeared frequently in official communiqués, newspaper reports, and personnel correspondences of the members of the British Expeditionary Force.

noun no man's lands · No Man's Land · no-man's land · no-man's-land · noman's land

  1. countable, uncountable The ground between trenches where a soldier from either side would be easily targeted. Near-synonym: kill zone

    Similar: kill zone

  2. countable, uncountable A space amidships used to keep blocks, ropes, etc.; a space on a ship belonging to no one in particular for which to care.
  3. countable, uncountable The part of a prison, hospital complex, etc. where individuals are not normally allowed to enter.
  4. countable, figuratively, uncountable A place where no one can or should be present. Now, George, if you’re going to consider this question from the point of view of poetry, you’re off to No Man’s Land, where I won’t follow you.
  5. countable, uncountable The area between the backcourt and the space close to the net, from which it is difficult to return the ball.
  6. countable, uncountable An area of the field where a fielder cannot save a single, nor stop a boundary.
  7. countable, historical, uncountable Tracts of uninhabited territory close to the Iron Curtain.
  8. countable, uncountable The stretch of land between the border posts of two contiguous sovereign states, sometimes separated by great distance. At the last Polish station all train officials left, except the locomotive crew, and we slowly trundled over a strongly fortified no man's land for a few hundred yards until we drew in to the first station in Russia.
  9. countable, uncountable Land that is not claimed by any recognized sovereign state; a terra nullius.
  10. countable, uncountable The fibrous sheath of the flexor tendons of the hand, specifically in the zone from the distal palmar crease to the proximal interphalangeal joint.

No Man's Land²

Where it comes from

See no man's land.

proper noun

  1. A hamlet in Morval parish and St Martin-by-Looe parish, east Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SX2756).
  2. A hamlet in Chilcomb parish, Winchester district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU5129).

Translations

Every language

noun dangerous ground between trenches

Portuguêsterra de ninguém

noun place where no one can or should be

Españoltierra de nadie
DeutschNiemandsland
Italianoterra di nessuno

noun stretch of land between the border posts of two contiguous sovereign states

Españoltierra de nadie
DeutschNiemandsland
Italianoterra di nessuno

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Cite this
MLA

"no man's land." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/no%20man's%20land. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

no man's land. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/no%20man's%20land

Chicago

"no man's land." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/no%20man's%20land.

BibTeX
@misc{no_man_s_land_2026,
  title = {no man's land},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/no%20man's%20land},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}