Oregon

American  

[awr-i-guhn, ‑-gon, or‑] / ˈɔr ɪ gən, ‑ˌgɒn, ˈɒr‑ /

noun

1. a state in the northwestern United States, on the Pacific coast. 96,981 square miles (251,180 square kilometers). Salem. OR (for use with zip code), Oreg., Ore.

2. a city in northwestern Ohio.

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Oregon British  

/ ˈɒrɪɡən /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Oreg..   OR.  a state of the northwestern US, on the Pacific: consists of the Coast and Cascade Ranges in the west and a plateau in the east; important timber production. Capital: Salem. Pop: 3 559 596 (2003 est). Area: 251 418 sq km (97 073 sq miles)

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Oregon Cultural  

1. State in the northwestern United States bordered by Washington to the north, Idaho to the east, Nevada and California to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its capital is Salem, and its largest city is Portland.

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Discover More

Before the coming of the railroads, the Oregon Trail was used as an overland emigration route from the Missouri River to the Columbia River country (all of which was then called Oregon).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Oregonian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Oregon

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

The games he will miss are against Abilene Christian and Oregon State.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

And after last year’s four-team 10-city barnstorming tour, the league will add two teams and anchor itself to locations in North Carolina, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

And, in the case of University of Oregon wide receiver Dakorien Moore, that amounted to upward of $80,000.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

Oregon and Pennsylvania also took the charity to court over the misleading jingle in 2009, resulting in a $130,000 fine and a requirement to disclose its affiliations in all advertisements.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

Approaching the redwood country, in southern Oregon, I kept him in the back of Rocinante, hooded as it were.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck