ENGLISH
REFERENCE

land up in

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford British English Informal

phr. v.. to end up in a place or situation by chance or without planning.

phr. v.. to arrive in a place or situation unintentionally or unexpectedly; marked informal, often used in spoken contexts.


SIMPLE

He landed up in hospital after the accident.

CONTEXTUAL

After the storm, the boat landed up in a strange bay.

COMPLEX

The lost hiker, who had intended to camp near the lake, instead landed up in a remote forest with no mobile signal.

Particles
up in
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
land + up + in + object
Usage

often used in spoken English; typically followed by a place or situation.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'end up in' (near-synonym) but note 'land up' carries stronger informal connotations and is more common in British English.

Pitfall

She landed up on the beach.She landed up in the beach.'in' is required when referring to a location, not 'on' — 'on the beach' describes position, 'in the beach' is incorrect; use 'at the beach' instead.

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