There have been known various classifications of landslides. Broad definitions include forms of mass movement that narrower definitions exclude. For example, the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology distinguishes the following types of landslides:
- fall (by undercutting)
- fall (by toppling)
- slump
- rockslide
- earthflow
- sinkholes, mountain side
- rockslide that develops into rock avalanche
Influential narrower definitions restrict landslides to slumps and translational slides in rock and regolith, not involving fluidisation. This excludes falls, topples, lateral spreads, and mass flows from the definition.