< /ˈlændˌslɪp/ (for defs 1, 2).
- the downward falling or sliding of a mass of soil, detritus, or rock on or from a steep slope.
- the mass itself.
- an election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes: the 1936 landslide for Roosevelt.
- any overwhelming victory: She won the contest by a landslide.
verb (used without object), land·slid, land·slid or land·slid·den, land·slid·ing.
- to come down in or as in a landslide.
- to win an election by an overwhelming majority.
noun
- Also called: landslip
- the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff
- the material dislodged in this way
-
- an overwhelming electoral victory
- (as modifier)a landslide win
n.1670s, from land (n.) + slip (n.). n.1856, American English, from land (n.) + slide (n.). Earlier was landslip, still preferred in Britain. Old English used eorðgebyrst in this sense; literally “earth-burst.” In the political sense, landslide “lopsided electoral victory” is attested from 1888.
- The rapid downward sliding of a mass of earth and rock. Landslides usually move over a confined area. Many kinds of events can trigger a landslide, such as the oversteepening of slopes by erosion associated with rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves; heavy snowmelt which saturates soil and rock; or earthquakes that lead to the failure of weak slopes.
- The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.