Appalachia

American  

[ap-uh-ley-chuh, -ley-chee-uh, -lach-ee-uh, -lach-uh] / ˌæp əˈleɪ tʃə, -ˈleɪ tʃi ə, -ˈlætʃ i ə, -ˈlætʃ ə /

noun

1. a region in the eastern United States, in the area of the southern Appalachian Mountains, usually including northeastern Alabama, northwestern Georgia, northwestern South Carolina, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western Virginia, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio.

2. Geology. a Paleozoic landmass, the erosion of which provided the sediments to form the rocks of the Appalachian Mountains.

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Appalachia British  

/ ˌæpəˈleɪtʃɪə /

noun

1. a highland region of the eastern US, containing the Appalachian Mountains, extending from Pennsylvania to Alabama

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Appalachia Cultural  

1. A mountainous region in the eastern United States, running from northern Alabama to Pennsylvania, and including parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and all of West Virginia.

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Discover More

A major coal-mining center and one of the most impoverished regions of the country.

Etymology

Origin of Appalachia

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from Appalachian ( def. )

Example Sentences

I told them I was from Kentucky, and I grew up working class in Appalachia, where my family still lived.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

“In the Fields of Fatherless Children,” the second novel from Appalachia native and “Greasewood Creek” author Pamela Steele, is neither about nor set in the Vietnam War.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Soaring demand and frozen gas fields from West Texas to Appalachia led to a record drawdown in U.S. natural-gas supplies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

About 33% of U.S. gas comes from Appalachia.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

Many of our most popular American children’s songs hail from centuries of ballads, hymns, popular and folk music of early New Englanders, Scottish, and English settlers inhabiting Appalachia, and African and European descendants.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin