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.

Microsoft and other companies have faced allegations from residents in an Indian court that they illegally occupied public land at a data-center site under construction outside Hyderabad.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Journalist Prabhu Chawla criticised clubs like the Gymkhana as exclusionary institutions operating on heavily subsidised public land.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

But mostly I long for the open road, those forgotten highways where pavement runs through the quaint towns, weathered landmarks and the millions of acres of public land in the desert.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

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

“We tracked both sides of the public land along Squaretail Brook, all the way down that hillside to where it runs into the Beal River.”

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden