Pennsylvania

American  

[pen-suhl-veyn-yuh, -vey-nee-uh] / ˌpɛn səlˈveɪn yə, -ˈveɪ ni ə /

noun

1. a state in the eastern United States. 45,333 sq. mi. (117,410 sq. km). Harrisburg. PA (for use with zip code), Pa., Penn., Penna.

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Pennsylvania British  

/ ˌpɛnsɪlˈveɪnɪə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Pa.   Penn.   Penna.   PA.  a state of the northeastern US: almost wholly in the Appalachians, with the Allegheny Plateau to the west and a plain in the southeast; the second most important US state for manufacturing. Capital: Harrisburg. Pop: 12 365 455 (2003 est). Area: 116 462 sq km (44 956 sq miles)

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Pennsylvania Cultural  

1. State in the northeastern United States bordered by Lake Erie and New York to the north; New Jersey to the east; Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia to the south; and Ohio to the west. Its capital is Harrisburg, and its largest city is Philadelphia.

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Named after the father of William Penn, a devout Quaker, who was granted proprietary rights by the king of England to almost the whole of what is now Pennsylvania in the late seventeenth century.

One of the thirteen colonies.

Example Sentences

"Being a dirt bag is not authentic. You know, being a dirt bag is being a dirt bag," Pennsylvania centrist Senator John Fetterman told CNN.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

The work is expected to generate as many as 6,000 jobs and up to $1.7 billion in economic activity for Pennsylvania, company executives said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

I do, however, pay property and school taxes—almost as much for my 1,000-square-foot camp as for my four-bedroom house in Pennsylvania.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Dubbed Don Colossus, the statue depicts the president on that fateful afternoon in Butler, Pennsylvania, moments after surviving what would turn out to be the first of many attempts on his life.

From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026

Barry Voight had left, returning to Pennsylvania State University to write up his findings on a possible landslide.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone