Missouri

American  

[mi-zoor-ee, -zoor-uh] / mɪˈzʊər i, -ˈzʊər ə /

noun

plural

Missouris,

plural

Missouri

1. a state in the central United States. 69,674 sq. mi. (180,455 sq. km). Jefferson City. MO (for use with zip code), Mo.

2. a river flowing from SW Montana into the Mississippi N of St. Louis, Mo. 2,723 miles (4,382 km) long.

3. a member of a North American Indian tribe belonging to the Siouan linguistic stock, located on the Missouri River in early historic times and now extinct as a tribe.

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idioms

1. from Missouri, unwilling to accept something without proof; skeptical.

   I'm from Missouri—you'll have to show me that you're right.

Missouri British  

/ mɪˈzʊərɪ /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Mo.   MO.  a state of the central US: consists of rolling prairies in the north, the Ozark Mountains in the south, and part of the Mississippi flood plain in the southeast, with the Mississippi forming the E border; chief US producer of lead and barytes. Capital: Jefferson City. Pop: 5 704 484 (2003 est). Area: 178 699 sq km (68 995 sq miles)

2. a river in the W and central US, rising in SW Montana: flows north, east, and southeast to join the Mississippi above St Louis; the longest river in North America; chief tributary of the Mississippi. Length: 3970 km (2466 miles)

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Missouri Cultural  

1. State in the central United States bordered by Iowa to the north; Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee to the east; Arkansas to the south; and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. Its capital is Jefferson City, and its largest city is St. Louis.

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Missouri More Idioms  

1. see from Missouri.

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Other Word Forms

• Missourian adjective

Example Sentences

The farm Ordway received in Missouri, as a reward for his great services to the expedition, was destroyed by the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes—leaving his children destitute.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

He’s a law professor at the University of Missouri, a former federal prosecutor, and a pardon expert.

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

The rapid adjustments at Cropsey, typical of a small operation, have not yet reached larger farms, said Ben Brown, an agriculture researcher at the University of Missouri.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

For Grayrocks Dam, the committee granted an exemption but required the Missouri Basin Power Project to preserve habitat and manage water to reduce harm to the cranes.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

When the glaciers melted, water gushed south, creating the Mississippi River and the Illinois and Missouri Rivers that funnel into it.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann