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  • cañada
    cañada
    noun
    a dry riverbed.
  • Canada
    Canada
    noun
    a nation in N North America: a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 3,690,410 sq. mi. (9,558,160 sq. km). Ottawa.

cañada

1 American  
[kuhn-yah-duh, -yad-uh] / kənˈjɑ də, -ˈjæd ə /

noun

Chiefly Western U.S.
  1. a dry riverbed.

  2. a small, deep canyon.


Canada 2 American  
[kan-uh-duh] / ˈkæn ə də /

noun

  1. a nation in N North America: a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 3,690,410 sq. mi. (9,558,160 sq. km). Ottawa.


Canada British  
/ ˈkænədə /

noun

  1. a country in North America: the second largest country in the world; first permanent settlements by Europeans were made by the French from 1605; ceded to Britain in 1763 after a series of colonial wars; established as the Dominion of Canada in 1867; a member of the Commonwealth. It consists generally of sparsely inhabited tundra regions, rich in natural resources, in the north, the Rocky Mountains in the west, the Canadian Shield in the east, and vast central prairies; the bulk of the population is concentrated along the US border and the Great Lakes in the south. Languages: English and French. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: Canadian dollar. Capital: Ottawa. Pop: 34 568 211 (2013 est). Area: 9 976 185 sq km (3 851 809 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Canada Cultural  
  1. Nation in northern North America, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean and Alaska to the west, and the United States to the south. Its capital is Ottawa, and its largest city is Toronto. In area, Canada is the second largest nation in the world, behind Russia.


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It is an ally of the United States, though conflict has arisen over environmental and trade issues. Each country is the other's leading partner in world trade (see North American Free Trade Agreement).

The border between Canada and the United States is the longest unguarded border in the world.

Canada has experienced recurring tension arising from a separatist movement in French-speaking Quebec province. In 1995, separatists were narrowly defeated in a referendum.

A French explorer founded Quebec in 1608.

Etymology

Origin of cañada

1840–50; < Spanish, equivalent to cañ ( a ) cane + -ada noun suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In the cañada we stopped to water our horses, and there heard that the enemy were advancing along it at a rapid pace, evidently hoping to cut off our supposed retreat towards the Cuchilla.

From The Purple Land by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)

We spent much of our time at Tisapán in collecting plants, and exploring the lava-field, and the cañada, or ravine, that leads up into the mountains that skirt the valley of Mexico.

From Anahuac : or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern by Tylor, Edward Burnett

Straight across through the clear blue-tinged atmosphere above the cañada to the shoulders and cañons, the forests and clear spaces and chaparral of the mountain flanks, we look.

From Insect Stories by Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)

Madroño Cottage lay at the entrance of a little cañada already green with the early winter rains, and nestled in a thicket of the harlequin painted trees that gave it a name.

From Frontier Stories by Harte, Bret

A keen wind rising in the hills was already creeping from the cañada as from the mouth of a funnel, and sweeping the plains.

From Frontier Stories by Harte, Bret

Yes, the U.S. also played Mexico twice, Switzerland, Japan, Turkey, Canada and Ecuador — all teams in the top 30 — winning just once.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 12, 2026

Canada also wants to set the minimum age for social media use at 16.

From Barron's Jul. 12, 2026

“Moana” lost its way at the box office this weekend as the company’s latest live-action remake opened to a sluggish $43 million in the U.S. and Canada.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 12, 2026

The threat of high temperatures has been a feature of the World Cup, being co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States.

From BBC Jul. 11, 2026

Based on old charts and journals, Parks Canada searchers had a general idea of where they believed the sunken ship originally lay.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

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