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landslide

 [land-slahyd]   Origin

land·slide

   [land-slahyd] noun, verb, -slid, -slid or -slid·den, -slid·ing.
noun Also called, especially British, land·slip  [land-slip] (for defs. 1, 2).
1.
the downward falling or sliding of a mass of soil, detritus, or rock on or from a steep slope.
2.
the mass itself.
3.
an election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes: the 1936 landslide for Roosevelt.
4.
any overwhelming victory: She won the contest by a landslide.
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verb (used without object)
5.
to come down in or as in a landslide.
6.
to win an election by an overwhelming majority.

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Landslide is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to spend time idly; loaf.
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Origin:
1830–40, Americanism; land + slide

Can be confused: avalanche, landslide.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
landslide (ˈlændˌslaɪd)
 
—n
1.  Also called: landslip
 a.  the sliding of a large mass of rock material, soil, etc, down the side of a mountain or cliff
 b.  the material dislodged in this way
2.  a.  an overwhelming electoral victory
 b.  (as modifier): a landslide win

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

landslide
1856, Amer.Eng., from land (n.) + slide. Earlier was landslip (1679), still preferred in Britain. In the political sense, landslide "lopsided electoral victory" is attested from 1888.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
landslide   (lānd'slīd')  Pronunciation Key 

  1. The rapid downward sliding of a mass of earth and rock. Landslides usually move over a confined area. Many kinds of events can trigger a landslide, such as the oversteepening of slopes by erosion associated with rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves; heavy snowmelt which saturates soil and rock; or earthquakes that lead to the failure of weak slopes.

  2. The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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