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Glite Dictionary
to force-land

to force-land

8.8
To make an aircraft land unexpectedly because of engine failure or bad weather
  • phrasal verb
  • /fɔrs-lænd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aterrizar de emergencia
  • The pilot had to force-land the aircraft in a field due to engine failure.

Examples

  • As the month wore on, B-29s bombed Osaka and Kobe, and a small U.S. force landed on the Zamboanga Peninsula, the westernmost part of Mindanao, the Philippines.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • During the storm, the plane force-landed on the highway without serious injuries.

  • When the weather turned bad, the pilot was forced to force-land on a remote island.

Synonyms

to put down
vsto force-land
  • Specialized
28 5.8

To land a plane in an emergency

is an unexpected emergency landing caused by technical failure or bad weather
to crash land
vsto force-land
15 4.6

To put a plane or helicopter down quickly in an emergency, often causing damage

is an emergency landing caused by failure or bad weather rather than by impact

How Urgent

to crash land
15 4.6
to force-land
  • Specialized
8.8

Surface Forms

force-land infinitive
force-landed past
force-landed past participle
force-landing present participle
force-lands third person singular

Morphology

force-land = force + land (transparent) = force + land

The verb clearly denotes making an aircraft 'land' by 'force', a direct compositional meaning from 'force' + 'land'.

Etymology

Force-land is a simple compound of force ('make or push') and land ('come down to the ground'). So, to force-land an aircraft is to make it land quickly and unexpectedly, often in an emergency because of a problem.