Alaska

American  

[uh-las-kuh] / əˈlæs kə /

noun

1. a state of the United States in northwestern North America. 586,400 sq. mi. (1,519,000 sq. km). Juneau. AK (for use with zip code), Alas.

2. Gulf of Alaska, a gulf of the Pacific Ocean, on the coast of southern Alaska.

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Alaska British  

/ əˈlæskə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Alas.   AK.  the largest state of the US, in the extreme northwest of North America: the aboriginal inhabitants are Inuit and Yupik; the earliest White settlements were made by the Russians; it was purchased by the US from Russia in 1867. It is mostly mountainous and volcanic, rising over 6000 m (20 000 ft), with the Yukon basin in the central region; large areas are covered by tundra; it has important mineral resources (chiefly coal, oil, and natural gas). Capital: Juneau. Pop: 648 818 (2003 est). Area: 1 530 694 sq km (591 004 sq miles)

2. the N part of the Pacific, between the Alaska Peninsula and the Alexander Archipelago

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Alaska Cultural  

1. State in northwesternmost North America bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north; Yukon, Canada, to the east; the Pacific Ocean to the south; and the Bering Sea to the west. Its capital is Juneau, and its largest city is Anchorage.

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Discover More

The forty-ninth state, admitted in 1959, and the largest.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Alaskan
  adjective

Compare meaning

How does alaska compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Alaska vs. Hawaii

Example Sentences

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Alaska Republican, laughed when I asked if he’d gifted her any shoes.

From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026

The Department of Energy will grant a further $200m to build new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia, the first new plants in the US since 2013.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

He also announced the upgrading of 13 existing coal plants across the country, the construction of two new coal plants in Alaska and West Virginia, and restarting a shuttered coal plant in Maryland.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

That’s on display in Alaska, where a man named Dan Sullivan on Friday announced he was running for the Alaska U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

Air Force Captain Chuck Maultsby took off in a U-2 and flew north, soaring past the north coast of Alaska and out over the Arctic Ocean.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin