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• America
  America

  noun

  United States.
• “America”
  “America”

  An American patriotic hymn from the nineteenth century, sung to the tune of the national anthem of Great Britain, “God Save the Queen.” It begins, “My country, 'tis of thee.”

America

American  

[uh-mer-i-kuh] / əˈmɛr ɪ kə /

noun

1. United States.

2. North America.

3. South America.

4. Also called the Americas.  North and South America considered together.

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America British  

/ əˈmɛrɪkə /

noun

1. short for the United States of America

2. Also called: the Americas.  the American continent, including North, South, and Central America

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“America” Cultural  

1. An American patriotic hymn from the nineteenth century, sung to the tune of the national anthem of Great Britain, “God Save the Queen.” It begins, “My country, 'tis of thee.”

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Usage

Spelling tips for America It can be difficult to remember how to spell the word America because it’s a place name that’s thought to be derived from a person’s name (Amerigo Vespucci). How to spell America: To remember how to spell America, think of a woman named Erica introducing herself: “Hi, I am Erica.”

Etymology

Origin of America

C16: from Americus , Latin form of Amerigo ; after Amerigo _Vespucci

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

America “America”

“The Great American Road Trip” is Acceptably American Content, promoting America as an ahistorical nation full of fun stops for the kids and nice hotels.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

Welcome to an "aura farming" battle, a phenomenon born on social media that has spilled over onto the streets of Latin America.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

The Directors Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents below-the-line workers on film and TV sets, have also urged the company and the states to resolve the dispute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

"There is still a lot of fascination with English country life, particularly in America, and she has the ability to bring that to a very large, global audience."

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

But nineteenth-century America was full of “humbug,” a word used for the types of entertainment popularized by renowned promoter P. T. Barnum.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

And finally, lovers of Maurizio Cattelan’s “America”, rejoice.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2025

The artist initially intended to create five matching versions of his toilet, which he titled “America” as a way to question which spaces in a museum get deemed sacred versus profane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

It would be deeply irresponsible for those of us with a public platform to offer assurances that somehow everything is going to turn out fine because of “America” and our “optimism” and “national character.”

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025

She sang enduring numbers in those roles: “America” in “West Side Story,” “One Boy” and “Spanish Rose” in “Bye Bye Birdie,” and “All That Jazz” in “Chicago.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2024

In New England, later, I found many ideas of which the settlement was symptomatic, but as I imbibed them they were “America” for me.

From The Invisible Censor by Francis Hackett