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land mine
noun
: a mine usually placed just below the surface of the ground and designed to be exploded usually by the weight of vehicles or troops passing over it
—often used figuratively
Every aspect of this scheme is a potential land mine.—Henry A. Kissinger
a political land mine
Synonyms
Examples of land mine in a Sentence
parents of teenagers never know when they might set off an emotional land mine
Recent Examples on the Web
The public saw and consumed her through these images: Diana sadly on a yacht with Dodi Fayed, Diana walking through a field with land mines, Diana in the backseat of a car in Paris.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 July 2024
Business looks at the state of things on the Hill and in presidential politics and sees more land mines than viable immigration reforms to rally around.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 25 Oct. 2024
Since January, Pyongyang has fortified its border defenses, laying land mines, building anti-tank traps and removing railway infrastructure, according to the South Korean military.
—Gawon Bae, CNN, 15 Oct. 2024
These could include, for example, seeing armed groups withdraw from populated areas, reopening state development projects, and curbing concrete abuses such as the planting of land mines.
—Elizabeth Dickinson, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1890, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near land mine
Cite this Entry
“Land mine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/land%20mine. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
land mine
noun
: a mine placed just below the surface of the ground and designed to be exploded by the weight of the vehicles or troops passing over it
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