Britain

American  

[brit-n] / ˈbrɪt n /

noun

1. Great Britain.

2. Britannia.

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Britain British  

/ ˈbrɪtən /

noun

1. another name for Great Britain United Kingdom

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Britain Cultural  

1. Officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, located on the British Isles off the western coast of the mainland (continent) of Europe. It comprises England, Wales, and Scotland on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. Its capital and largest city is London.

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It is one of the world's leading industrialized nations.

Most of the settlers of the American colonies were British. The colonies remained under the British crown until the American Revolutionary War.

Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. Allied with the United States and the Soviet Union, the British, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, played an important role in defeating Germany.

At the height of its imperial power in the late nineteenth century, Britain boasted colonies and possessions around the globe. (See British Empire.)

A constitutional monarchy, Britain's government calls for the hereditary king or queen to perform mostly ceremonial functions. Parliament governs the country.

Compare meaning

How does britain compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Britain vs. England
• Britain vs. Great Britain

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Britain

The scientists say that the country's climate is "on the move" as northern areas of Britain now see warmer temperatures that used to only affect southern England.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

If he isn't, some on the party's soft left will think that Burnham has refused the first fence in the race to change Britain.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

London and Madrid have disputed control of Gibraltar since the tiny territory -- known affectionately as "The Rock" -- was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Britain and the EU -- which London left in 2020 -- have been at the forefront of trying to punish Moscow with sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

When Bede wrote a history of the church in Britain, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, he used the new calendar.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife