Alaska

American  

[uh-las-kuh] / əˈlæs kə /

noun

1. a state of the United States in northwestern North America. 586,400 sq. mi. (1,519,000 sq. km). Juneau. AK (for use with zip code), Alas.

2. Gulf of Alaska, a gulf of the Pacific Ocean, on the coast of southern Alaska.

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Alaska British  

/ əˈlæskə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Alas.   AK.  the largest state of the US, in the extreme northwest of North America: the aboriginal inhabitants are Inuit and Yupik; the earliest White settlements were made by the Russians; it was purchased by the US from Russia in 1867. It is mostly mountainous and volcanic, rising over 6000 m (20 000 ft), with the Yukon basin in the central region; large areas are covered by tundra; it has important mineral resources (chiefly coal, oil, and natural gas). Capital: Juneau. Pop: 648 818 (2003 est). Area: 1 530 694 sq km (591 004 sq miles)

2. the N part of the Pacific, between the Alaska Peninsula and the Alexander Archipelago

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Alaska Cultural  

1. State in northwesternmost North America bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north; Yukon, Canada, to the east; the Pacific Ocean to the south; and the Bering Sea to the west. Its capital is Juneau, and its largest city is Anchorage.

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Discover More

The forty-ninth state, admitted in 1959, and the largest.

Other Word Forms

• Alaskan adjective

Compare meaning

How does alaska compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Alaska vs. Hawaii

Example Sentences

United Airlines fell 3% while Southwest Airlines declined 1.7%, and Alaska Air Group declined more than 0.9%.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

These cans contained fillets from four species collected over a 42-year span in the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

But Starlink, the service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has become a dominant provider for airlines, signing up customers including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air Group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Her aunt in Anchorage even texted to let Sullivan know that news of her protest had reached Alaska.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

Around 14,000 BC, the chase took some of them from north-eastern Siberia to Alaska.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari