lander

noun

land·​er ˈlan-dər How to pronounce lander (audio)
: one that lands
especially : a space vehicle that is designed to land on a celestial body (such as the moon or a planet)

Examples of lander in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The culprit is an upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that launched two lunar landers to the moon in January 2025. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 4 Aug. 2026 The Apollo 15's Falcon lunar lander touched down on the moon on July 30. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 2 Aug. 2026 An opportunity to study the Moon… The upper stage belongs to a Falcon 9 rocket that launched two lunar landers, Firefly’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Hakuto-R, on January 15, 2025. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 The Falcon 9 on a path to crash into the moon is believed to be part of the same rocket that launched in January 2025 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying an uncrewed lunar lander. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 30 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for lander

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lander was in 1859

Rhymes for lander

See All Rhymes for lander

Browse Nearby Words

landed
lander
landert
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lander. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lander

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lander

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