North Carolina

American  

noun

1. a state in the southeastern United States, on the Atlantic coast. 52,586 square miles (136,198 square kilometers). Raleigh. NC (for use with zip code), N.C.

---

North Carolina British  

noun

1. Abbreviation: N.C..   NC.  a state of the southeastern US, on the Atlantic: consists of a coastal plain rising to the Piedmont Plateau and the Appalachian Mountains in the west. Capital: Raleigh. Pop: 8 407 248 (2003 est). Area: 126 387 sq km (48 798 sq miles)

---

North Carolina Cultural  

1. State in the southeastern United States bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina and Georgia to the south, and Tennessee to the west. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte.

---

Discover More

One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

One of the thirteen colonies.

Other Word Forms

• North Carolinian
  adjective

Example Sentences

Natron Energy canceled plans to produce sodium-ion battery cells in North Carolina last year after funding difficulties.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026

Phillips pointed to Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C., a moderate running for Senate in North Carolina, as an example of a successful moderate dominating the polls in their state’s primary.

From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026

She spent an extra day in North Carolina to miss the Sunday rush back to New York.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026

The North Carolina company posted quarterly losses last year as costs rose and some sales didn’t yield enough profit—particularly a short-lived partnership with McDonald’s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026

Charles Clinton Spaulding left his family’s farm in southeastern North Carolina in 1894 for Durham, where his uncle, the town’s black doctor, Aaron Moore, lived.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson