Britain

American  

[brit-n] / ˈbrɪt n /

noun

1. Great Britain.

2. Britannia.

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Britain British  

/ ˈbrɪtən /

noun

1. another name for Great Britain United Kingdom

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Britain Cultural  

1. Officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, located on the British Isles off the western coast of the mainland (continent) of Europe. It comprises England, Wales, and Scotland on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. Its capital and largest city is London.

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It is one of the world's leading industrialized nations.

Most of the settlers of the American colonies were British. The colonies remained under the British crown until the American Revolutionary War.

Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. Allied with the United States and the Soviet Union, the British, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, played an important role in defeating Germany.

At the height of its imperial power in the late nineteenth century, Britain boasted colonies and possessions around the globe. (See British Empire.)

A constitutional monarchy, Britain's government calls for the hereditary king or queen to perform mostly ceremonial functions. Parliament governs the country.

Compare meaning

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

• Britain vs. Great Britain
• Britain vs. England

Example Sentences

The stranger was blasting rap music, “and nobody did anything, because everyone in Britain is afraid now.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool avoided a huge scare to triumph in the doubles and put Great Britain into the final round of Davis Cup qualifying with a 3-0 win over Norway.

From BBC

French food giant Danone recalled batches of infant formula in Britain, Spain, Croatia and Slovenia over the possible presence of a toxin, food safety authorities said on Friday, expanding the measure across Europe.

From Barron's

A reviewer in Britain's Guardian newspaper sniffed that "an undeniable strain of sentimentalism runs throughout" the book and its prose.

From Barron's

Figure skater Lilah Fear and bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall have the honour of carrying the Great Britain flag.

From BBC