Land vs. Realm — What's the Difference?
By Fiza Rafique & Maham Liaqat — Updated on May 8, 2024
Land typically refers to a specific area of ground or territory, while realm denotes a kingdom or sphere of influence, often used in a metaphorical or historical sense.
Difference Between Land and Realm
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Land generally indicates a physical expanse of territory, like a farm, region, or nation. Realm, on the other hand, signifies a broader concept, encompassing both physical territories and abstract domains such as a king's realm or a realm of ideas.
Land is a more concrete and tangible term, referring to the earth's surface or a country's territory. In contrast, realm is more abstract, evoking the notion of a kingdom or field of activity, often tied to governance or spheres of influence.
When people speak of land, they usually refer to geographical locations or property. Realm, however, commonly invokes historical, political, or even metaphorical associations, representing a kingdom, area of rule, or specialized field.
Land is often linked to ownership, agriculture, or geographical regions, while realm is related to governance or authority over a specific territory, typically in a medieval or historical context.
Land is regularly used in a literal sense in everyday language, whereas realm is often reserved for formal or metaphorical expressions, such as "a realm of fantasy."
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Specific area of ground
Kingdom or field of activity
Usage
More concrete, tangible
More abstract, metaphorical
Associations
Geography, ownership, region
Governance, influence, authority
Context
Property, agriculture
Kingdom, government, specialized field
Historical Use
Less formal or symbolic
Medieval, political, and symbolic
Compare with Definitions
Land
An expanse of earth's surface.
The farmer owns a large piece of fertile land.
Realm
A kingdom or domain under the rule of a monarch.
The king ruled over his vast realm with wisdom.
Land
The territory of a country or region.
They settled in a foreign land across the ocean.
Realm
A sphere or domain of activity.
In the realm of science, new discoveries are constantly being made.
Land
A nation or its territory.
He loves his homeland and often visits there.
Realm
A field of imaginative or metaphorical activity.
The film takes place in a magical realm full of wonder.
Land
The part of the earth not covered by water.
The island is surrounded by land on three sides.
Realm
A community or territory governed by a ruler.
The wizard journeyed through the elven realm to seek aid.
Land
Ground considered as property.
He purchased land to build his new house.
Realm
An area of interest or expertise.
She is well known in the literary realm for her poetry.
Land
Land is the solid surface of Earth that is not permanently submerged in water. The vast majority of human activity throughout history has occurred in land areas that support agriculture, habitat, and various natural resources.
Realm
A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state.
Land
A state of Germany or Austria.
Realm
A community or territory over which a sovereign rules; a kingdom.
Land
Put (someone or something) on land from a boat
He landed his troops at Hastings
Realm
An area or sphere, as of knowledge or activity
The realm of science.
Land
Come down through the air and rest on the ground or another surface
We will shortly be landing at Gatwick
A fly landed on Tom's nose
Realm
An abstract sphere of influence, real or imagined.
Land
Cause someone to be in (a difficult situation)
His exploits always landed him in trouble
Realm
The domain of a certain abstraction.
Land
Inflict (a blow) on someone
I won the fight without landing a single punch
Realm
(computing) A scope of operation in networking or security.
Land
The solid ground of the earth.
Realm
A territory or state, as ruled by a specific power, especially by a king.
Land
Ground or soil
Tilled the land.
Realm
An otherworldly dimension or domain — magical, ethereal, or otherwise — usually ruled or created by a mystical character.
Land
A topographically or functionally distinct tract
Desert land.
Prime building land.
Realm
A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher than kingdoms.
Land
A nation; a country.
Realm
A royal jurisdiction or domain; a region which is under the dominion of a king; a kingdom.
The absolute master of realms on which the sun perpetually shone.
Land
The people of a nation, district, or region.
Realm
Hence, in general, province; region; country; domain; department; division; as, the realm of fancy.
Land
Lands Territorial possessions or property.
Realm
A domain in which something is dominant;
The untroubled kingdom of reason
A land of make-believe
The rise of the realm of cotton in the south
Land
Public or private landed property; real estate.
Realm
A knowledge domain that you are interested in or are communicating about;
It was a limited domain of discourse
Here we enter the region of opinion
The realm of the occult
Land
(Law) The solid material of the earth as well as the natural and manmade things attached to it and the rights and interests associated with it.
Realm
The domain ruled by a king or queen
Land
An agricultural or farming area
Wanted to buy a house on the land.
Land
Farming considered as a way of life.
Land
An area or realm
The land of make-believe.
The land of television.
Land
The raised portion of a grooved surface, as on a phonograph record.
Land
To bring to and unload on land
Land cargo.
Land
To set (a vehicle) down on land or another surface
Land an airplane smoothly.
Land a seaplane on a lake.
Land
(Informal) To cause to arrive in a place or condition
Civil disobedience will land you in jail.
Land
To catch and pull in (a fish)
Landed a big catfish.
Land
(Informal) To win; secure
Land a big contract.
Land
(Informal) To deliver
Landed a blow on his opponent's head.
Land
To come to shore
Landed against the current with great difficulty.
Land
To disembark
Landed at a crowded dock.
Land
To descend toward and settle onto the ground or another surface
The helicopter has landed.
Land
(Informal) To arrive in a place or condition
Landed at the theater too late for the opening curtain.
Landed in trouble for being late.
Land
To come to rest in a certain way or place
Slipped and landed on his shoulder.
Land
The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water.
Most insects live on land.
Land
Real estate or landed property; a partitioned and measurable area which is owned and acquired and on which buildings and structures can be built and erected.
There are 50 acres of land in this estate.
Land
A country or region.
They come from a faraway land.
Land
A person's country of origin and/or homeplace; homeland.
Land
The soil, in respect to its nature or quality for farming.
Wet land; good or bad land for growing potatoes
Land
Realm, domain.
I'm going to Disneyland.
Maybe that's how it works in TV-land, but not in the real world.
Land
(agriculture) The ground left unploughed between furrows; any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing.
Land
A shock or fright.
He got an awful land when the police arrived.
Land
(electronics) A conducting area on a board or chip which can be used for connecting wires.
Land
On a compact disc or similar recording medium, an area of the medium which does not have pits.
Land
(travel) The non-airline portion of an itinerary. Hotel, tours, cruises, etc.
Our city offices sell a lot more land than our suburban offices.
Land
(obsolete) The ground or floor.
Land
(nautical) The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; called also landing.
Land
In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, such as the level part of a millstone between the furrows.
Land
(ballistics) The space between the rifling grooves in a gun.
Land
A group of dwellings or tenements under one roof and having a common entry.
Land
Lant; urine
Land
(intransitive) To descend to a surface, especially from the air.
The plane is about to land.
Land
(dated) To alight, to descend from a vehicle.
Land
(intransitive) To come into rest.
Land
(intransitive) To arrive on land, especially a shore or dock, from a body of water.
Land
(transitive) To bring to land.
It can be tricky to land a helicopter.
Use the net to land the fish.
Land
To capture or arrest.
Land
(transitive) To acquire; to secure.
Land
(transitive) (of a blow) To deliver.
If you land a knockout blow, you’ll win the match
Land
(intransitive) (of a punch) To connect
If the punches land, you might lose a few teeth!
Land
(intransitive) To go down well with an audience.
Some of the comedian's jokes failed to land.
Land
Urine. See Lant.
Land
The solid part of the surface of the earth; - opposed to water as constituting a part of such surface, especially to oceans and seas; as, to sight land after a long voyage.
They turn their heads to sea, their sterns to land.
Land
Any portion, large or small, of the surface of the earth, considered by itself, or as belonging to an individual or a people, as a country, estate, farm, or tract.
Go view the land, even Jericho.
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,Where wealth accumulates and men decay.
A poor parson dwelling upon land [i.e., in the country].
Land
Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet land; good or bad land.
Land
The inhabitants of a nation or people.
These answers, in the silent night received,The king himself divulged, the land believed.
Land
The mainland, in distinction from islands.
Land
The ground or floor.
Herself upon the land she did prostrate.
Land
The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one of several portions into which a field is divided for convenience in plowing.
Land
Any ground, soil, or earth whatsoever, as meadows, pastures, woods, etc., and everything annexed to it, whether by nature, as trees, water, etc., or by the hand of man, as buildings, fences, etc.; real estate.
Land
The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; - called also landing.
Land
In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, as the level part of a millstone between the furrows, or the surface of the bore of a rifled gun between the grooves.
Land
To set or put on shore from a ship or other water craft; to disembark; to debark.
I 'll undertake to land them on our coast.
Land
To catch and bring to shore; to capture; as, to land a fish.
Land
To set down after conveying; to cause to fall, alight, or reach; to bring to the end of a course; as, he landed the quoit near the stake; to be thrown from a horse and landed in the mud; to land one in difficulties or mistakes.
Land
To pilot (an airplane) from the air onto the land; as, to land the plane on a highway.
Land
To come to the end of a course; to arrive at a destination, literally or figuratively; as, he landed in trouble; after hithchiking for a week, he landed in Los Angeles.
Land
To go on shore from a ship or boat; to disembark.
Land
To reach and come to rest on land after having been in the air; as, the arrow landed in a flower bed; the golf ball landed in a sand trap; our airplane landed in Washington.
Land
The land on which real estate is located;
He built the house on land leased from the city
Land
Material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use);
The land had never been plowed
Good agricultural soil
Land
The solid part of the earth's surface;
The plane turned away from the sea and moved back over land
The earth shook for several minutes
He dropped the logs on the ground
Land
Territory over which rule or control is exercised;
His domain extended into Europe
He made it the law of the land
Land
The territory occupied by a nation;
He returned to the land of his birth
He visited several European countries
Land
A domain in which something is dominant;
The untroubled kingdom of reason
A land of make-believe
The rise of the realm of cotton in the south
Land
Extensive landed property (especially in the country) retained by the owner for his own use;
The family owned a large estate on Long Island
Land
The people who live in a nation or country;
A statement that sums up the nation's mood
The news was announced to the nation
The whole country worshipped him
Land
A politically organized body of people under a single government;
The state has elected a new president
African nations
Students who had come to the nation's capitol
The country's largest manufacturer
An industrialized land
Land
United States inventor who incorporated Polaroid film into lenses and invented the one-step photographic process (1909-1991)
Land
Working the land as an occupation or way of life;
Farming is a strenuous life
There's no work on the land any more
Land
Reach or come to rest;
The bird landed on the highest branch
The plane landed in Istanbul
Land
Cause to come to the ground;
The pilot managed to land the airplane safely
Land
Bring into a different state;
This may land you in jail
Land
Bring ashore;
The drug smugglers landed the heroin on the beach of the island
Land
Deliver (a blow);
He landed several blows on his opponent's head
Land
Arrive on shore;
The ship landed in Pearl Harbor
Land
Shoot at and force to come down;
The enemy landed several of our aircraft
Land
Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on land;
Land vehicles
Sea stories
Sea smells
Sea traffic
Land
Operating or living or growing in water;
Boats are aquatic vehicles
Water lilies are aquatic plants
Fish are aquatic animals
Common Curiosities
How does 'realm' differ from 'land'?
Realm generally refers to a kingdom or a metaphorical sphere of influence, whereas land is more specific to physical ground.
Is 'land' always used for property ownership?
No, land also refers to broader concepts like regions or territories.
What does 'land' mean?
Land refers to a specific geographical area, often related to property or territory.
Are 'land' and 'realm' interchangeable?
Not entirely, as realm is often more abstract and formal, while land is tangible and specific.
Does 'realm' imply governance?
Typically, realm implies a form of governance, often related to royalty or leadership within a specific territory or field.
How is 'land' understood in environmental contexts?
In environmental contexts, land often refers to natural landscapes, ecosystems, and geographical features.
Can 'realm' be used to refer to non-physical concepts?
Yes, realm can describe abstract fields like knowledge or imagination.
Is 'land' used in legal contexts?
Yes, land is frequently used in legal contexts to define property ownership or rights.
What are the typical connotations of 'realm'?
Realm connotes authority, specialized knowledge, or control within a specific area.
Can 'land' be used metaphorically like 'realm'?
Not as commonly. Land is usually used in a literal sense, while realm is more flexible and often metaphorical.
Is 'realm' commonly used in everyday language?
It's less common in everyday speech, as it's often reserved for specific contexts like literature, history, and specialized fields.
Can 'land' include structures or buildings?
Yes, land can include structures when considering real estate or property value.
Can 'realm' refer to a specific place?
Yes, while realm often has a metaphorical meaning, it can also specifically refer to a kingdom or dominion.
Is 'realm' always associated with royalty or nobility?
No, while historically tied to royalty, realm can refer to non-royal domains like "the realm of medicine."
Is 'land' used differently across English-speaking regions?
Yes, there are regional variations. For example, "land" in the U.S. often implies real estate, while in the UK, it may emphasize rural property.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
