‘登陆’ is a verb meaning either 'to land' (physically arriving on shore or a celestial body like the moon or Mars) or, in modern internet usage, 'to log in' to an online account or platform. The character 登 (dēng) means 'to ascend' or 'to climb', suggesting upward or forward movement toward a destination; 陆 (lù) means 'land' or 'continent'. Together, they literally convey 'ascending onto land', which extends naturally to both physical landings and digital 'entry' into a secured system.

This word is commonly used in news reports about space missions ('China’s rover successfully landed on Mars') or maritime operations ('The troops began their beach landing at dawn'). In tech contexts, it’s widely understood as 'log in', especially in apps and websites — though it’s slightly more formal than the colloquial '登录' (dēng lù), which is actually the more standard spelling for 'log in'. Despite identical pronunciation, 登陆 and 登录 are distinct words with overlapping but not interchangeable usage.