heartland
noun
Simple meaning
The interior part of a region.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hahrtlandSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɑɹtlænd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The interior part of a region, especially when contrasted with coastal parts or when regarded as particularly powerful or significant.
A region or part of a region particularly associated with or significant for a characteristic, such as an activity, a faith, support for a political party or other organization, etc.
specificallyUSoften attributively
The states in the centre of the United States, chiefly regarded as politically and socially conservative; also, the people living in such states collectively.
The central region of a country or continent; especially a region that is important to a country or to a culture
Also in the plural form heartlands
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The interior part of a region, especially when contrasted with coastal parts or when regarded as particularly powerful or significant.
Used this way, heartland is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use heartland
- “The nation's heartland is known for its vast farmlands and quiet towns.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.