state

American  

[steyt] / steɪt /

noun

• states
  plural

1. the condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes.

   a state of health.

2. the condition of matter with respect to structure, form, constitution, phase, or the like.

   water in a gaseous state.

3. status, rank, or position in life; station.

   He dresses in a manner befitting his state.

   Synonyms:

   standing

4. the style of living befitting a person of wealth and high rank.

   to travel in state.

5. a particular condition of mind or feeling.

   to be in an excited state.

6. an abnormally tense, nervous, or perturbed condition.

   He's been in a state since hearing about his brother's death.

7. a politically unified people occupying a definite territory; nation.

8. the territory, or one of the territories, of a government.

9. Sometimes State any of the bodies politic which together make up a federal union, as in the United States of America.

10. the body politic as organized for civil rule and government (distinguished from church).

11. the operations or activities of a central civil government.

    affairs of state.

12. Also called State Department.  Informal. State. the Department of State.

13. Printing. a set of copies of an edition of a publication which differ from others of the same printing because of additions, corrections, or transpositions made during printing or at any time before publication.

14. Informal. the States, the United States (usually used outside its borders).

    After a year's study in Spain, he returned to the States.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the central civil government or authority.

2. made, maintained, or chartered by or under the authority of one of the commonwealths that make up a federal union: a state bank.

   a state highway;

   a state bank.

3. characterized by, attended with, or involving ceremony.

   a state dinner.

   Synonyms:

   dignified, imposing, ceremonial, stately

4. used on or reserved for occasions of ceremony.

verb (used with object)

• states,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stated,
  past participle,  past
• stating
  present participle

1. to declare definitely or specifically.

   She stated her position on the case.

   Synonyms:

   affirm, asseverate, assert, aver

2. to set forth formally in speech or writing.

   to state a hypothesis.

3. to set forth in proper or definite form.

   to state a problem.

4. to say.

5. to fix or settle, as by authority.

   Synonyms:

   determine

idioms

1. state of mind. see state of mind.

2. lie in state, (of a corpse) to be exhibited publicly with honors before burial.

   The president's body lay in state for two days.

state British  

/ steɪt /

noun

1. the condition of a person, thing, etc, with regard to main attributes

2. the structure, form, or constitution of something

   a solid state

3. any mode of existence

4. position in life or society; estate

5. ceremonious style, as befitting wealth or dignity

   to live in state

6. a sovereign political power or community

7. the territory occupied by such a community

8. the sphere of power in such a community

   affairs of state

9. (often capital) one of a number of areas or communities having their own governments and forming a federation under a sovereign government, as in the US

10. (often capital) the body politic of a particular sovereign power, esp as contrasted with a rival authority such as the Church

11. obsolete a class or order; estate

12. informal a nervous, upset, or excited condition (esp in the phrase in a state )

13. (of a body) to be placed on public view before burial

14. a situation; present circumstances or condition

15. the current situation

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1. controlled or financed by a state

   state university

2. of, relating to, or concerning the State

   State trial

3. involving ceremony or concerned with a ceremonious occasion

   state visit

verb

1. to articulate in words; utter

2. to declare formally or publicly

   to state one's innocence

3. to resolve

state More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing state

• in a lather (state)
• in state
• ship of state

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Synonym Usage

State, condition, situation, status are terms for existing circumstances or surroundings. State is the general word, often with no concrete implications or material relationships: the present state of affairs. Condition carries an implication of a relationship to causes and circumstances: The conditions made flying impossible. Situation suggests an arrangement of circumstances, related to one another and to the character of a person: He was master of the situation. Status carries official or legal implications; it suggests a complete picture of interrelated circumstances as having to do with rank, position, standing, a stage reached in progress, etc.: the status of negotiations. See maintain.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• statehood
  noun
• substate
  noun
• counterstate
  verb
• outstate
  verb (used with object)
• antistate
  adjective
• statable
  adjective
• stateable
  adjective
• unstatable
  adjective
• unstateable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• states
  plural

Participles

• stating
  present
• stated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• state
  simple
• states
  simple
• have stated
  perfect
• has stated
  perfect
• am stating
  progressive
• are stating
  progressive
• is stating
  progressive
• have been stating
  perfect progressive
• has been stating
  perfect progressive

Past

• stated
  simple
• had stated
  perfect
• was stating
  progressive
• were stating
  progressive
• had been stating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will state
  simple
• will have stated
  perfect
• will be stating
  progressive
• will have been stating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of state

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun stat(e), partly from estat estate, partly from Latin status “condition” ( see status); the meanings state in defs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 derive from Latin status (rērum) ) “state (of things)” or status (reī pūblicae) “state (of the republic)”

Explanation

State can be a condition — like solid, liquid, or gas, or even sad or happy. It can also be a state as in Idaho or New York. To state is to say something. State comes from the Latin status, meaning "condition of a country." Interestingly, even before the Revolutionary War, Britain called the American colonies states. The “States” still refers to America, but state can refer to any country’s civil government. The idea of state as a physical or emotional condition came later. Depending on your state of mind, you can state that the state of your state is awesome. Unless it’s in a state of emergency, which is no good.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

state states stated stating

The revelations triggered a joint investigation by dozens of states, which two years later resulted in a complaint filed by around 30 state attorneys general.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Nigeria's army has said it safely rescued 33 people after they were kidnapped by armed men while travelling through the country's north-western Zamfara state.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

But individuals over the past decade set up trading accounts with Futu and its peers via websites in Hong Kong or in person in the city, according to Chinese state media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The Suisun City council declared a state of emergency Saturday after a cyberattack forced the municipality to shut down its information technology network.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

I preferred to let music take me away to a deep, all-consuming state of slumber.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Four states will now attempt to prove their case together in Oakland.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

In July, federal agencies linked Taylor-supplied shredded iceberg lettuce, served at some Taco Bell locations, to thousands of cyclosporiasis illnesses across multiple states.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Federal agencies are investigating cyberattacks targeting municipal water systems in a dozen states.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

Instead, the findings suggest that very different experiences may sometimes engage overlapping brain processes associated with altered states of consciousness.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

The heart of the question was slavery and whether it would be limited by law as the growing nation added new states.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

For anyone keeping score, that leaves Trump’s publicly stated resume including businessman, president, golf-course owner — and, apparently, one of the world’s foremost grass experts.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

The administration has consistently stated the US has enough in its stockpile.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

National Assembly Chief Jorge Rodriguez, the brother of interim president Delcy Rodriguez, stated on June 30 that 30,000 people were located in the disaster zone when the quakes struck.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

The two-dimensional version of the Jacobian conjecture was stated by Czech mathematician Ludwig Kraus in 1884.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

The permission slip had clearly stated that students were forbidden to make any purchases.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Hughes is seeking relief for $1.5 billion in debt that matured on Aug. 1, stating it lacks the cash to pay off the debt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Bass spokesperson Ilanna Morales said the mayor was simply stating what public health officials had determined, which was that conditions didn’t warrant a mandatory evacuation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

The public and the press were excluded from the three-hour Standards Committee meeting on Wednesday despite Fife Cook stating he wanted the hearing to be open to all.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

The judge at the latest bail hearing justified a refusal to free him because Lukwago did not have a certificate from his doctor stating that he cannot be treated in prison.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

I didn’t mean it to worm out as a question and was mad at myself for asking instead of stating.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Related Words

• affirm
• articulate
• describe
• explain
• expound
• express
• give
• present
• put
• say
• set forth
• speak
• specify
• tell
• voice