English Reference
Noun

landfall

n. C / U
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈɫændˌfɔɫ/ UK /lˈændfɔːl/ land·fall UK spelling landfalls Nautical

n.the moment when a ship or a storm finally reaches land after being over the ocean.

n.the first sighting or arrival at land after a journey across the sea, or the point at which a tropical cyclone's centre moves over a coastline.


SIMPLE

The hurricane made landfall early this morning.

CONTEXTUAL

After three weeks at sea, the crew celebrated as they finally made landfall on the coast of Portugal.

COMPLEX

Meteorologists predicted that the storm would make landfall as a category three hurricane, bringing significant storm surges to the low-lying coastal communities.

Usage

Commonly used with the verb 'make' ('to make landfall').

Travelling north-west, it will pass very close to or even make landfall on the Northern Mariana Islands, where a warning is already in place.

The Guardian· 21 Aug 2026

The storm is expected to either make landfall or pass close to the southern tip of Big Island on Saturday, before continuing west.

BBC News· 15 Aug 2026

From land + fall.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated