What does landslip mean?
Landslip is a noun for the movement of a mass of rock, earth, or other debris down a slope. The movement may be sudden or gradual, and it can displace buildings, split roads, or block valleys. In British English, landslip is a common label for this geophysical event; American English also uses it, although landslide is more frequent there. The word appears especially in reporting on severe weather, engineering, insurance, and slope management, as in “landslip damage.” It has a technical sound but remains readily understandable, and it can describe either the process itself or the displaced mass or resulting scar. In ordinary use, it is more specific and more British-leaning than the broad term landslide. Because landslip also exists as a rare verb, the word can describe a slope undergoing movement. Overall, it is a useful geographical noun for referring to ground that has shifted downslope, whether the event was gradual or sudden.
A mass of rock, soil, or other debris that moves or has moved down a slope.
"The village was evacuated after a large landslip blocked the only road."
Usually countable; more common in British English than in American English.
To move down a slope as a mass of rock, soil, or debris.
"The saturated hillside landslipped and damaged the access road."
Rare and chiefly used in technical or descriptive contexts.
The standard plural for separate occurrences or masses of ground movement.
"Several landslips occurred after days of torrential rain."
When the ground decides that gravity is merely a suggestion, the result is a landslip.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does landslip come from?
Landslip was formed in English by combining land and slip. Both components are Old English, and the compound appears in English by the 17th century in the sense of a slipping or falling of land. It later became established in the geological sense of a mass of earth or rock moving downslope; landslide is a closely related English compound.
Related word forms
How landslip is actually used
The noun is normally countable. The verb is uncommon and chiefly occurs in technical or descriptive writing about slope movement.
Easily confused with landslip
A landslip is the British-leaning term for a mass of ground moving downslope, while landslide is the more common American term for the same phenomenon.