hinterland.

The surrounding or more distant territory economically connected to a town, port, or other center.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• agricultural hinterland
• port hinterland
• distant hinterland

On the page

The port depended on its hinterland for grain and timber.

Shops in the regional capital served an extensive hinterland.

Officials rarely traveled into the hinterland whose taxes funded their offices.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Here the social-economic geography sense, not a list of landscape features. Can also suggest a region removed from major centers. Plural: hinterlands. No other inflection applies to this noun.