Stars and Stripes

American  

noun

1. the national flag of the U.S., consisting of 13 horizontal stripes that are alternately red and white, representing the original states, and of a blue field containing 50 white stars, representing the present states.

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Stars and Stripes British  

noun

1. Also known as: the Star-Spangled Banner.  (functioning as singular) the national flag of the United States of America, consisting of 50 white stars representing the present states on a blue field and seven red and six white horizontal stripes representing the original states

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Stars and Stripes Cultural  

1. The national flag of the United States. Its fifty stars represent the fifty states; its thirteen stripes represent the thirteen colonies that became the original states.

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Example Sentences

D. Earl Stephens served as managing editor of Stars and Stripes from 1998 to 2009.

From Salon • May 3, 2026

Bill Mauldin, an enlisted soldier with the 45th Infantry in Europe during World War II, was also a cartoonist for the 45th Division News and for Stars and Stripes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

At times, the Lion and Sun flag—the national flag of Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution—seemed almost as common as the Stars and Stripes.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

Bavarian comedian Maxi Schafroth, 41, attempted to run up the Stars and Stripes on a flagpole near the cultural centre in Nuuk, before he was confronted by angry passers-by.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

The United States had one flag design, the familiar Stars and Stripes, which changed only when additional stars were added to indicate that a new state had been accepted into the Union.

From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly