Soil vs. Land — What's the Difference?

Soil is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Earth's body of soil, called the pedosphere, has four important functions: as a medium for plant growth as a means of water storage, supply and purification as a modifier of Earth's atmosphere as a habitat for organismsAll of these functions, in their turn, modify the soil and its properties.

Land encompasses various terrains and topographies.

Soil is the Earth's fertile top layer.

Land holds both natural and constructed entities.

Soil comprises minerals and organic matter.

Land can be owned, bought, or sold.

The top layer of the earth's surface in which plants can grow, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter and having the capability of retaining water.

Land demarcates territories and boundaries.

A particular kind of earth or ground

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.

Country; land

A state of Germany or Austria.

The agricultural life

Put (someone or something) on land from a boat

A place or condition favorable to growth; a breeding ground.

Come down through the air and rest on the ground or another surface

The state of being soiled.

Cause someone to be in (a difficult situation)

A stain.

Inflict (a blow) on someone

Filth, sewage, or refuse.

The solid ground of the earth.

Manure, especially human excrement, used as fertilizer.

Ground or soil

To make dirty, particularly on the surface.

A topographically or functionally distinct tract

To disgrace; tarnish

A nation; a country.

To corrupt; defile.

The people of a nation, district, or region.

To dirty with excrement.

Lands Territorial possessions or property.

To become dirty, stained, or tarnished.

Public or private landed property; real estate.

To feed (livestock) with soilage.

(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.

(uncountable) A mixture of mineral particles and organic material, used to support plant growth.

An agricultural or farming area

(uncountable) The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

Farming considered as a way of life.

(uncountable) The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of genetic and environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature effects), and macro- and microorganisms, conditioned by relief, acting on parent material over a period of time. A product-soil differs from the material from which it is derived in many physical, chemical, biological, and morphological properties and characteristics.

An area or realm

Country or territory.

The raised portion of a grooved surface, as on a phonograph record.

That which soils or pollutes; a stain.

To bring to and unload on land

A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer.

To set (a vehicle) down on land or another surface

Dung; compost; manure.

(Informal) To cause to arrive in a place or condition

Faeces or urine etc. when found on clothes.

To catch and pull in (a fish)

A bag containing soiled items.

(Informal) To win; secure

A wet or marshy place in which a boar or other such game seeks refuge when hunted.

(Informal) To deliver

(transitive) To make dirty.

To come to shore

(intransitive) To become dirty or soiled.

To disembark

To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully.

To descend toward and settle onto the ground or another surface

(reflexive) To dirty one's clothing by accidentally defecating while clothed.

(Informal) To arrive in a place or condition

To make invalid, to ruin.

To come to rest in a certain way or place

To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.

The part of Earth which is not covered by oceans or other bodies of water.

To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an enclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (due to such food having the effect of purging them) to purge by feeding on green food.

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.

To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an inclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (such food having the effect of purging them), to purge by feeding on green food; as, to soil a horse.

A country or region.

To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.

A person's country of origin and/or homeplace; homeland.

To make dirty or unclean on the surface; to foul; to dirty; to defile; as, to soil a garment with dust.

The soil, in respect to its nature or quality for farming.

To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully.

Realm, domain.

To become soiled; as, light colors soil sooner than dark ones.

(agriculture) The ground left unploughed between furrows; any of several portions into which a field is divided for ploughing.

The upper stratum of the earth; the mold, or that compound substance which furnishes nutriment to plants, or which is particularly adapted to support and nourish them.

A shock or fright.

Land; country.

(electronics) A conducting area on a board or chip which can be used for connecting wires.

Dung; fæces; compost; manure; as, night soil.

On a compact disc or similar recording medium, an area of the medium which does not have pits.

A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer.

(travel) The non-airline portion of an itinerary. Hotel, tours, cruises, etc.

That which soils or pollutes; a soiled place; spot; stain.

(obsolete) The ground or floor.

The state of being covered with unclean things

(nautical) The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; called also landing.

The part of the earth's surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock

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.

Material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use);

(ballistics) The space between the rifling grooves in a gun.

The geographical area under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state;

A group of dwellings or tenements under one roof and having a common entry.

Make soiled, filthy, or dirty;

Lant; urine

Soil sustains and nourishes plant life.

(intransitive) To descend to a surface, especially from the air.

Soil can be sandy, clayey, or loamy.

(dated) To alight, to descend from a vehicle.

Soil health impacts agricultural output.

(intransitive) To come into rest.

(intransitive) To arrive on land, especially a shore or dock, from a body of water.

(transitive) To bring to land.

To capture or arrest.

(transitive) To acquire; to secure.

To succeed in having sexual relations with; to score

(transitive) (of a blow) To deliver.

(intransitive) (of a punch) To connect

(intransitive) To go down well with an audience.

Urine. See Lant.

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.

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.

Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet land; good or bad land.

The inhabitants of a nation or people.

The mainland, in distinction from islands.

The ground or floor.

The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one of several portions into which a field is divided for convenience in plowing.

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.

The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; - called also landing.

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.

To set or put on shore from a ship or other water craft; to disembark; to debark.

To catch and bring to shore; to capture; as, to land a fish.

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.

To pilot (an airplane) from the air onto the land; as, to land the plane on a highway.

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.

To go on shore from a ship or boat; to disembark.

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.

The land on which real estate is located;

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 solid part of the earth's surface;

Territory over which rule or control is exercised;

The territory occupied by a nation;

A domain in which something is dominant;

Extensive landed property (especially in the country) retained by the owner for his own use;

The people who live in a nation or country;

A politically organized body of people under a single government;

United States inventor who incorporated Polaroid film into lenses and invented the one-step photographic process (1909-1991)

Working the land as an occupation or way of life;

Reach or come to rest;

Cause to come to the ground;

Bring into a different state;

Bring ashore;

Deliver (a blow);

Arrive on shore;

Shoot at and force to come down;

Relating to or characteristic of or occurring on land;

Operating or living or growing in water;

Land is the Earth's solid surface.

Soil is primarily composed of minerals, organic matter, water, and air.

Yes, land can be rocky, sandy, or even icy, without fertile soil.

No, land suitability for construction depends on its topography, soil stability, and other factors.

Soil fertility determines the type and quality of crops that can be grown, impacting agricultural yield.

Yes, land is valuable for various purposes, including agriculture, real estate, and natural resources.

Soil can be conserved through methods like crop rotation, contour plowing, and afforestation.

Yes, land value can vary significantly based on location, accessibility, and potential use.

Land is a general term for the Earth's solid surface, while terrain refers to the land's specific physical features.

Land ownership is determined by legal titles, deeds, and territorial jurisdictions.

Land refers to the solid surface of the Earth that isn't submerged underwater.

Yes, common soil types include sandy, silt, clay, peat, chalk, and loam.

Soil erosion can degrade land quality, reducing its agricultural potential and impacting ecosystems.

Organisms help decompose organic matter, aerate the soil, and enhance its nutrient content.

While most plants depend on soil, some plants, like air plants, can grow without soil.

Yes, land use can evolve due to urbanization, agricultural practices, or ecological changes.