Pennsylvania

American  

[pen-suhl-veyn-yuh, -vey-nee-uh] / ˌpɛn səlˈveɪn yə, -ˈveɪ ni ə /

noun

1. a state in the eastern United States. 45,333 sq. mi. (117,410 sq. km). Harrisburg. PA (for use with zip code), Pa., Penn., Penna.

---

Pennsylvania British  

/ ˌpɛnsɪlˈveɪnɪə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Pa.   Penn.   Penna.   PA.  a state of the northeastern US: almost wholly in the Appalachians, with the Allegheny Plateau to the west and a plain in the southeast; the second most important US state for manufacturing. Capital: Harrisburg. Pop: 12 365 455 (2003 est). Area: 116 462 sq km (44 956 sq miles)

---

Pennsylvania Cultural  

1. State in the northeastern United States bordered by Lake Erie and New York to the north; New Jersey to the east; Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia to the south; and Ohio to the west. Its capital is Harrisburg, and its largest city is Philadelphia.

---

Discover More

Named after the father of William Penn, a devout Quaker, who was granted proprietary rights by the king of England to almost the whole of what is now Pennsylvania in the late seventeenth century.

One of the thirteen colonies.

Example Sentences

Judging by “Where We Keep the Light,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is willing to say risky things to the Democratic base.

From The Wall Street Journal

Senators largely held to party loyalties, with the exception of Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who broke ranks to support the measure, and Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman, who opposed it.

From Los Angeles Times

An educational campaign wouldn’t cause panic, said Olivia Mitchell, professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and executive director of the Pension Research Council.

From MarketWatch

Microsoft wants to reopen Pennsylvania’s retired Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

From The Wall Street Journal

Within weeks, versions of “Singular Revelations” circulated throughout the country’s newspapers, appearing in Vermont, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and North Carolina, then crossing the Atlantic to Dublin and London.

From Literature