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mainland

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mainland

1. the main part of a land mass as opposed to an island or peninsula
2. the mainland a particular landmass as viewed from a nearby island with which it has close links, such as Great Britain as viewed from Northern Ireland or continental Australia as viewed from Tasmania

Mainland

1. an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Shetland Islands. Chief town: Lerwick. Pop.: 17 550 (2001). Area: about 583 sq. km (225 sq. miles)
2. an island off N Scotland: the largest of the Orkney Islands. Chief town: Kirkwall. Pop.: 15 315 (2001). Area: 492 sq. km (190 sq. miles)
3. the Mainland NZ a South Islanders' name for South Island
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

mainland

[′mān·lənd]
(geography)
A continuous body of land that constitutes the main part of a country or continent.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Mentioned in
References in classic literature
The most striking and important fact for us in regard to the inhabitants of islands, is their affinity to those of the nearest mainland, without being actually the same species.
New Zealand in its endemic plants is much more closely related to Australia, the nearest mainland, than to any other region: and this is what might have been expected; but it is also plainly related to South America, which, although the next nearest continent, is so enormously remote, that the fact becomes an anomaly.
At length one day it struck me that my prison had grown much larger, and that the mainland seemed to be nearer.
Among other plans Bradley had thought of constructing a covered raft upon which they might drift to the mainland; but as such a contrivance would necessarily be of considerable weight, it must be built in the water of the sea, since they could not hope to move it even a short distance overland.
Always he was planning on reaching the mainland, and never a day passed that he did not go to the top of the hill and look out across the sea toward the dark, distant line that meant for him comparative freedom and possibly reunion with his comrades.
On reaching the mainland the Giant took a friendly farewell of Ring, and told him he might take possession of all that was in the island after he and his wife died, which would happen within two weeks from that time.
Against this possibility I urged him to hasten the building of a fleet of small sailing-vessels, which we might utilize should I find it impossible to entice Hooja's horde to the mainland.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong protesters are set to rally for a second day on Sunday in an area popular with mainland Chinese shoppers as anger over the government's handling of an extradition bill revives other grievances, such as an influx of cross-border visitors.
Investar Holding announced the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions for its previously announced pending acquisition of Mainland Bank, Texas City, Texas.
A new high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and mainland China launched Sunday, a multi-billion-dollar project that critics say gives away part of the city's territory to an increasingly assertive Beijing.
BEIJING -- Overseas NGOs must secure approval from Chinese authorities before they can operate on the Chinese mainland, according to a new law adopted by China's top legislature.
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