soft-land

verb

To land (a vehicle or other payload) on the surface of a body in such a manner that it survives the landing mostly or entirely intact and is usable or able to operate, at least briefly, following touchdown.

“The Spirit and Opportunity rovers were soft-landed on Mars in 2004.”

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Meanings

verbsoft-land (third-person singular simple present soft-lands, present participle soft-landing, simple past and past participle soft-landed)

present singular third person soft-lands · participle present soft-landing · participle past soft-landed · past soft-landed · alternative soft land

  1. intransitivetransitiveaeronauticsTo land (a vehicle or other payload) on the surface of a body in such a manner that it survives the landing mostly or entirely intact and is usable or able to operate, at least briefly, following touchdown.

    The Spirit and Opportunity rovers were soft-landed on Mars in 2004.

    1 more example

    The crate of supplies soft-landed in the drop zone under its parachute, allowing the soldiers to replenish their food and ammo for the next few days of fighting.

Cite this entry
APA

soft-land. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft-land

MLA

“soft-land.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft-land. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “soft-land,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft-land.

Source: soft-land on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.