AskDefine | Define landmark

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Dictionary Definition

landmark

Noun

1 the position of a prominent or well-known object in a particular landscape; "the church steeple provided a convenient landmark"
2 an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend; "the agreement was a watershed in the history of both nations" [syn: turning point, watershed]
3 a mark showing the boundary of a piece of land
4 an anatomical structure used as a point of origin in locating other anatomical structures (as in surgery) or as point from which measurements can be taken

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Alternative spellings

Etymology

From land + mark.

Noun

  1. a recognizable natural or man-made feature used for navigation
  2. a notable building or place with historical, cultural, or geographical significance
  3. a major or important item, denoting a change of direction or marking a beginning or an end

Derived terms

Translations

a recognizable natural or man-made feature used for navigation
a notable building or place
a major or important item
  • Spanish: sobresaliente

Extensive Definition

Originally, a landmark literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area.
In modern usage, it includes anything that is easily recognizable, such as a monument, building, or other structure. In American English it is the main term used to designate places that might be of interest to tourists due to notable physical features or historical significance. Landmarks in the British English sense are often used for casual navigation, such as giving directions. This is done in American English as well.
A variant is a seamark or daymark, a structure usually built intentionally to aid sailors navigating featureless coasts. An example is the tower at Walton-on-the-Naze in England.

Links to landmarks around the world

Landmarks may be split into two categories: natural phenomena (physical features such as waterfalls and mountains) and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares, and so forth.
Natural phenomena include:
Landmarks in the man-made group include:

Africa

Asia

Australasia

Europe

North America

South America

Photographs

CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada flagicon Canada had been the Tallest Building and Freestanding Structure (553.3 m) for over 30 years, and has the highest observation deck. Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia flagicon Australia

See also

landmark in Danish: Vartegn
landmark in German: Wahrzeichen
landmark in Esperanto: Rekonilo
landmark in Korean: 랜드마크
landmark in Indonesian: Markah tanah
landmark in Luxembourgish: Landmaark
landmark in Dutch: Oriëntatiepunt
landmark in Japanese: ランドマーク
landmark in Russian: Памятник архитектуры
landmark in Simple English: Landmarks
landmark in Swedish: Landmärke
landmark in Chinese: 地標

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

bench mark, bookmark, cairn, cardinal point, catstone, chief thing, climax, core, cornerstone, crisis, critical, critical point, crucial, crux, essence, essential, essential matter, feature, fundamental, gist, gravamen, great point, guide, guidepost, heart, high point, historic, identification, important, important thing, issue, kernel, keystone, lighthouse, lightship, main point, main thing, major, mark, marker, material point, meat, menhir, milepost, milestone, momentous, monument, notable, noteworthy, nub, pharos, pith, pivot, pivotal, platform, real issue, salient point, seamark, significant, sine qua non, substance, substantive point, the bottom line, the point, tower, turning point, watchtower, watershed
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