Netherlands
Americannoun
noun
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Also called: Holland. Dutch name: Nederland. a kingdom in NW Europe, on the North Sea: declared independence from Spain in 1581 as the United Provinces; became a major maritime and commercial power in the 17th century, gaining many overseas possessions; formed the Benelux customs union with Belgium and Luxembourg in 1948 and was a founder member of the Common Market, now the European Union. It is mostly flat and low-lying, with about 40 per cent of the land being below sea level, much of it on polders protected by dykes. Official language: Dutch. Religion: Christian majority, Protestant and Roman Catholic, large nonreligious minority. Currency: euro. Capital: Amsterdam, with the seat of government at The Hague. Pop: 16 805 037 (2013 est). Area: 41 526 sq km (16 033 sq miles)
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the kingdom of the Netherlands together with the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, esp as ruled by Spain and Austria before 1581; the Low Countries
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Born in Amsterdam's De Baarsjes district, he became the first Dutch-born player of Moroccan heritage to represent the Netherlands when Frank Rijkaard handed him his debut against Germany in November 1998.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
And a pair of heavy hitters face off at 9 when Morocco takes on the Netherlands.
From Slate • Jun. 29, 2026
Tesla is currently trying to expand access to FSD in Europe after the Netherlands became the first in the European Union to approve its use.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026
Last week, Germany joined France and the Netherlands in calling on the European Commission to tighten EU-wide rules on ultrafast fashion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 29, 2026
Those were in their infancy, with the first TomTom GO GPS first appearing in the Netherlands in 2005.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.