New Mexico

American  

noun

1. a state in the southwestern United States. 121,666 sq. mi. (315,115 sq. km). Santa Fe. NM (for use with zip code), N. Mex., N.M.

---

New Mexico British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: N. Mex..   NM.  a state of the southwestern US: high semiarid plateaus and mountains, crossed by the Rio Grande and the Pecos River; large Spanish-American and Indian populations; contains over two-thirds of US uranium reserves. Capital: Santa Fé. Pop: 1 874 614 (2003 est). Area: 314 451 sq km (121 412 sq miles)

---

New Mexico Cultural  

1. State in the southwestern United States bordered by Colorado to the north, Oklahoma and Texas to the east, Texas and Mexico to the south, and Arizona to the west. Its capital is Santa Fe, and its largest city is Albuquerque.

---

Discover More

An important center of Native American culture and home to Navajo reservations.

Center of the Los Alamos Research Center, where the atomic bomb (see also atomic bomb) was developed.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• New Mexican
  adjective

Example Sentences

The election was one of many primaries across California, Iowa, New Jersey and New Mexico on Tuesday that will shape the midterm elections that will happen across the country in November.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

And so I like shooting in New Mexico and supporting the local community, especially local Natives.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

It has some exposure to the Middle East, where the war has impacted operations, but 83% of its production is U.S.-based, with particularly strong positions in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Ghost Ranch in New Mexico remains one of the most important windows into this distant past.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2026

“And, and—even if she doesn’t want to go, we can still go. We can fly all the way to New Mexico and get that orchard!”

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller