Oregon

American  

[awr-i-guhn, ‑-gon, or‑] / ˈɔr ɪ gən, ‑ˌgɒn, ˈɒr‑ /

noun

1. a state in the northwestern United States, on the Pacific coast. 96,981 square miles (251,180 square kilometers). Salem. OR (for use with zip code), Oreg., Ore.

2. a city in northwestern Ohio.

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Oregon British  

/ ˈɒrɪɡən /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Oreg..   OR.  a state of the northwestern US, on the Pacific: consists of the Coast and Cascade Ranges in the west and a plateau in the east; important timber production. Capital: Salem. Pop: 3 559 596 (2003 est). Area: 251 418 sq km (97 073 sq miles)

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Oregon Cultural  

1. State in the northwestern United States bordered by Washington to the north, Idaho to the east, Nevada and California to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its capital is Salem, and its largest city is Portland.

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Discover More

Before the coming of the railroads, the Oregon Trail was used as an overland emigration route from the Missouri River to the Columbia River country (all of which was then called Oregon).

Other Word Forms

• Oregonian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Oregon

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Harris is excited about his future and wants to be a two-sport athlete at the next level, having received multiple offers while citing UCLA, USC, Texas Tech, Miami and Oregon State among his favorite destinations.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

Barron’s picked Idacorp stock on May 22, 2025, believing the utility serving some 650,000 retail customers in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon would benefit from population inflow and power-hungry artificial-intelligence data centers.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

I screened it at Columbia River and twice at Oregon State Penitentiary—once for the lifers group, once for the Asian Pacific Family Club.

From Slate • May 27, 2026

Will Gasparino was ejected in the fourth inning for malicious contact after he was caught in a rundown and ran over an Oregon player ready to tag him out at third base.

From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026

“Oh, yeah. I’m seeing about transferring my credits from University of Oregon to Oregon State College of Forestry.”

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti