no-man's-land.

1. An area between opposing forces or authorities that neither controls securely.

2. A neglected or uncertain domain falling between established areas of responsibility, used figuratively.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• cross no-man's-land
• political no-man's-land
• no-man's-land between

On the page

The ambulance waited until both sides agreed it could cross no-man's-land.

Between the two councils, the service road had become a bureaucratic no-man's-land.

No-man's-land began where the last checkpoint's protection ended.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Historically associated with battlefields; also figurative for neglected or indeterminate space. Do not call any empty land this without the sense of uncertain control or belonging. Plural: no-man's-lands, though usually singular or uncountable in figurative use. Spaced spelling no man's land is also used.