Landlocked describes a place completely surrounded by land, with no direct access to an ocean or sea. Bolivia and Switzerland are landlocked countries: you can't reach the ocean from them without crossing through at least one other country first. In the United States, states like Iowa, Kansas, and Colorado are landlocked, while California and Florida touch the ocean.

Being landlocked matters more than you might think. For thousands of years, ocean access meant easier trade with distant places, since ships could carry far more cargo than wagons. Landlocked countries often had to negotiate with their neighbors just to ship goods overseas. Today, landlocked Bolivia must send its exports through Chilean or Peruvian ports to reach the rest of the world by sea.

The word applies to smaller things too. A landlocked lake has no rivers flowing out to the ocean, like the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Without that outlet, minerals and salt wash in but never wash out, making the water saltier over time.