cañada

¹

[kuhn-yah-duh, -yad-uh]

noun

Chiefly Western U.S.

1. a dry riverbed.

2. a small, deep canyon.

Canada

²

[kan-uh-duh]

noun

1. a nation in N North America: a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 3,690,410 sq. mi. (9,558,160 sq. km). Ottawa.

Canada

/ ˈkænədə /

noun

1. a country in North America: the second largest country in the world; first permanent settlements by Europeans were made by the French from 1605; ceded to Britain in 1763 after a series of colonial wars; established as the Dominion of Canada in 1867; a member of the Commonwealth. It consists generally of sparsely inhabited tundra regions, rich in natural resources, in the north, the Rocky Mountains in the west, the Canadian Shield in the east, and vast central prairies; the bulk of the population is concentrated along the US border and the Great Lakes in the south. Languages: English and French. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: Canadian dollar. Capital: Ottawa. Pop: 34 568 211 (2013 est). Area: 9 976 185 sq km (3 851 809 sq miles)

Canada

1. Nation in northern North America, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean and Alaska to the west, and the United States to the south. Its capital is Ottawa, and its largest city is Toronto. In area, Canada is the second largest nation in the world, behind Russia.

It is an ally of the United States, though conflict has arisen over environmental and trade issues. Each country is the other's leading partner in world trade (see North American Free Trade Agreement).

The border between Canada and the United States is the longest unguarded border in the world.

Canada has experienced recurring tension arising from a separatist movement in French-speaking Quebec province. In 1995, separatists were narrowly defeated in a referendum.

A French explorer founded Quebec in 1608.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Canada¹

1840–50; < Spanish, equivalent to cañ ( a ) cane + -ada noun suffix

Example Sentences

In another key, “North of North,” another remote small town comedy, set in Canada’s northernmost territory among the Indigenous Inuit people is one of my best-loved shows of 2025.

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Bellamy chose England, and Canada last month, as friendly opponents because he wanted to prepare his players for the kind of challenges they will face in high-stakes fixtures.

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First discovered by a prolific fossil hunter at Golden Cap in Dorset in 2001 the new ichthyosaur was then acquired by a museum in Canada.

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Carolyn Rogers endorsed a competition shakeup in the highly concentrated financial-services industry, saying the country’s banking sector is an oligopoly and changes could help lift Canada’s prolonged productivity slump.

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In an update to its annual risk outlook, the regulator said threats to Canada’s economy have evolved with the escalation of tariff discussions, rising unemployment and ongoing housing-market pressure.

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