Illinois

¹ American  

[il-uh-noi, -noiz] / ˌɪl əˈnɔɪ, -ˈnɔɪz /

noun

• Illinois
  plural

1. a member of a confederacy of North American Indians of Algonquian stock, formerly occupying Illinois and adjoining regions westward.

2. the Algonquian language of the Illinois and Miami Indians.

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Illinois ² American  

[il-uh-noi, -noiz] / ˌɪl əˈnɔɪ, -ˈnɔɪz /

noun

1. a state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 56,400 sq. mi. (146,075 sq. km). Springfield. IL (for use with zip code), Ill.

2. a river flowing southwest from northeastern Illinois to the Mississippi River: connected by a canal with Lake Michigan. 273 miles (440 km) long.

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Illinois British  

/ ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Ill., IL. a state of the N central US, in the Midwest: consists of level prairie crossed by the Illinois and Kaskaskia Rivers; mainly agricultural. Capital: Springfield. Pop: 12 653 544 (2003 est). Area: 144 858 sq km (55 930 sq miles)

2. a river in Illinois, flowing SW to the Mississippi. Length: 439 km (273 miles)

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Illinois Cultural  

1. State in the north-central United States bordered on the north by Wisconsin, the east by Indiana, the south by Kentucky, and the west by Missouri and Iowa. Its capital is Springfield, and its largest city is Chicago.

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Pronunciation

The pronunciation of Illinois with a final , which occurs chiefly among less educated speakers, is least common in Illinois itself, increasing in frequency as distance from the state increases.

Discover More

Known as the “Land of Lincoln” because Abraham Lincoln began his political career there.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Illinois
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Illinois

1715–25, < French, earlier Eriniouai, Ilinoués, etc., from an unidentified Algonquian language, apparently literally, “one who sounds normal” (i.e., “a person who speaks an Algonquian language”), equivalent to the (unattested) Proto-Algonquian elements elen- “ordinary” + -we “make sound”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Illinois

Illinois does not have filial responsibility laws, so adult children are not financially responsible for their parents.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

Randy Gail Sperino was last seen alive on the evening of 9 November 1993, as she was getting into a pickup truck in Granite City, Illinois.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The paper also reported that Paxton rang in 2025 at a New Year’s party in Dubai attended by two men federal prosecutors had indicted for allegedly embezzling millions from an Illinois hospital.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

The two fugitives at the Dubai event had been both indicted in federal court in Illinois in 2024 on charges that they embezzled $15 million from a Chicago hospital where Ahmed was CFO.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Leah banished her only child, shipping Lizzie eight hundred miles away to live in Illinois with the father she barely knew.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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