United States

American  

[yoo-nahy-tid steyts] / yuˈnaɪ tɪd ˈsteɪts /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. Official Name United States of America.  a federal republic in the northern Western Hemisphere comprising 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the North Pacific, and in some contexts considered along with its five inhabited island territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, North Mariana Islands,American Samoa ). Conterminous United States, 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,465 square kilometers); with Alaska and Hawaii, 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,517 square kilometers); all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the island territories, 3,805,927 square miles (9,857,306 square kilometers) Washington, D.C. U.S., US

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Other Word Forms

• anti–United States
  adjective
• pro–United States
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of United States

First recorded in 1600–10, in reference to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and in 1770–80 for the United States of America ( def. )

Example Sentences

Maslin said the idea of the United States being completely autonomous in terms of rare earths, from extraction to selling permanent magnets, is not far-fetched.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

In Arcadia and other heavily Asian cities in the San Gabriel Valley, the charges have brought questions about what exactly China is doing, along with alarm about a potential backlash in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

"I'm not particularly worried there will be much onward spread of hantavirus," Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor of epidemiology at Brown University in the United States, wrote on Bluesky.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

As the author of a book about the history of Mexican food in the United States, I pointed out that this Del Taco isn’t actually the original, despite what the marquee says.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

We were all too aware that the only thing protecting the last people with the equipment and training to Glitch for the United States was a hidden door in the side of a mountain.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin