public land

[puhb-lik land] / ˈpʌb lɪk ˈlænd /

NOUN

land that is open to public

Synonyms

WEAK

government land national forest national park national wildlife refuge nature conservancy land unappropriated land

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On public land or highways, responsibility for disposal rests with the local council, if ownership cannot be determined.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

In the fall of 2023, a crew of geologists reported that the public land it was looking at in Esmeralda County didn’t seem all that promising.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

The public land was reserved by President Theodore Roosevelt for border protection purposes.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025

More than half of that is federal public land that can support roughly 9,000 head of cattle, according to an advertisement in brokerage listings.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2025

They all had branches I could reach from public land, but none of them had quite ripened yet.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan