From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishheartlandheart‧land /ˈhɑːtlənd $ ˈhɑːrt-/ noun [countable] 1 → the heartland2 SGPPMAINthe most important part of a country or area for a particular activity, or the part where a political group has most support the Democratic heartlands of the Deep South
Examples from the Corpus
heartland• Niagara Falis was seen, correctly, as the source that would create an industrial heartland in Southern Ontario.• America's industrial heartland• The Establishment has lost its heartland in the Conservative Party.• Here in his own heartlands, his home-base, the king alone stood tall among lay potentes.• Its old courthouse, streets lined with Victorian homes and town square scream heartland.• That too often happens in writings about the heartland, the vast reaches of the West and other strong places.• Looking back, the heartland was a congenial place to nail down the business.• It just so happens that this region includes the heartland of Charles the Bald's kingdom.• The heartlands of Tiranoc were swamped by a succession of enormous tidal waves that drowned the plains and smashed the cities. 